Only 8 Eagle crosses in the game suggesting we are not working the offensive corners effectively.

(only 3 in this game  we must generate more corner play)

Our lone goal was a short pass breakaway set up from the midfield near the end of the game.

(From a corner early in the 2nd half)

A well struck free kick hit the cross bar - we headed an open net ball over the net - we buried 6 in the keeper's belly.

(more frightening misses on sure opportunities)

Goals against -

Free kick from a foul just outside of our box front and centre. Scored on the wall side top right corner - a good strike but suggests our wall set-up needs work.

Second goal crossed from a bad angle on the right that found the far post.

Third goal from the right side but fumbled by the keeper - and dropped over the line.

Six offensive shots 1 v 1 with the opposing keeper squandered.

One of those was a creative set play on an indirect kick from the penalty spot (pass back).

The London coach said "they were lucky" after the game - and he was right. Reminiscent of last year's first game with them when they started with 8 players and we still lost 1-2. The London coach had the same comment last year.

(we had them at a roster disadvantage and failed to close it up)

Notables, Chloe Steph and Katie not available. Megan got a quality hit to the nose at the halfway mark of the first half.

Wednesday, July 26GAME REPORT JULY 3.06 VS NORTH MISSISSAUGA
A positive 6-1 result and 3 more critical points in your quest.

The coaching staff was convinced going into this game that we would face a tough opponent based on what we had seen in our scouting reviews of their games against others.

We encouraged you to go into this game applying lots of pressure and playing YOUR game and not let North Miss get organized.

Your performance was extraordinary with an opening goal in the first 3 minutes and you were in consistent control throughout the game.

Congrats to Leanne, our birthday girl, who logged 3 of our 6 goals.

Statistics

Completed Passes

1st half - 123

2nd half - 124

A new team standard high that clearly illustrates your control in the game.

Shots on net

Eagles - 27

N Miss - 5

Corners

Eagles - 6

N Miss - 1

(We didn't convert any of these - needs work)

Offsides

Eagles - 2

N Miss - 0

A reminder to all that you must maintain a high intensity game for the full ninety minutes even when you have a comfortable lead.

Dropping your guard against a team that is turning up their effort can lead to unnecessary contact and injury.

This doesn't mean you need to run up the score, but it does mean you have to stay focussed on good control and your possession game.

Congratulations to all.

You have sent a clear message to our soccer community that the Eagles are coming to get them.

Our league division is split down the middle with only 4 teams that are anywhere near contention for the title.

Still lots of season left and lots more to develop your game even further, so stay focused on maintaining your fitness away from the training field and study your soccer strategy through the many resources available to you.

BT

Wednesday, July 26GAME REPORT JUNE 26.06 AT BURLINGTON
The rain stayed away and 3 points to the good with a 3-1 victory.

You continue at a pace that puts you 1 point out of first place.

Many thanks to Krysta Landry who joined us from the G17 and delivered a solid contribution to our win. We look forward to her future involvement.

Completed passes were well below par, especially in the first half.

Shots were 17 vs 4 in your favour.

Having said that, the game overall was not our best performance.

Sluggish start, too much standing around, not enough pressure on the opponent with the ball.

Everyone needs to review what they did in the previous 48 hours in preparation for this game - hydration, nutrition, sleep, energy conservation.

All players must imagine where the ball might go and shut down pass opportunities BEFORE they happen.

Most of the night, we collectively moved after a pass was made to an open player and had to work twice as hard to deal with it.

Our team shape was far too long with wide gaps between our defenders/mids/forwards. This created the need for long passes that often got cut off, or long 50/50 ball deliveries that are inconsistent with our possession game plan.

You had far too many dangerous defending set plays given to Burlington caused by scrambling near our net.

We gave up 3 unnecessary corners and at least two dangerous direct kicks - one resulted in a goal against and one missed gratefully from a bad delivery.

You avoid these risks by keeping solid midfield control and keeping enough pressure on the other team that they can't organize long balls into our end.

We will spending a lot of time on defending and attacking set plays in our next training session on Thursday.

Our development of defensive walls last night was frightening and we left our keeper and our net seriously exposed.

Defending against free kicks within striking distance as best taught and learned from the perspective of the keeper who must be in complete charge of all player positioning.

Smart teams organize defending and attacking free-kick set up very quickly.

The following link will give you a peek from the keeper perspective when setting up for a variety of free kicks.

The soft end of our game schedule is over and the tougher games are ahead - the ones you MUST win to reach your goals and control your destiny.

Remember that each of you have a very serious responsibility for game preparation, physically, mentally and technically.

Let this be the last game that I hear someone ask about the record and performance of the team you are playing.

Rep soccer is no different than another school subject - it involves homework, practice and you have an exam on every game night.

See you Thursday and probably Sunday night somewhere (UTM is closed I think) as we prepare to face North Miss on Monday at South Common.

On Thursday night there is a game at Fallingbrook between North Miss and St. Catharines Black - two teams that we have yet to face.

All should consider taking in some of this game after training so you get to see what their shape, tactics, and skill levels (in your position) look like.

I'll adjust our training session from 6:30 pm to 8 pm approx on Thursday so all who can, can catch the game.

Wear something "generic" to the game so we aren't too obvious - although I'm sure we'll be noticed quickly.

Homework......

Lots of responsibilities - but have fun while you're doing it.

There is a possibility for a general training session on Friday morning 9-12 for those who are available. Let me know who can/can't.

BT

Wednesday, July 26GAME REPORT JUNE 12.06 IN KITCHENER
Great weather for a game on a good field at Budd 1.

A late start at 8:40 pm while we waited for game officials to arrive.

A 5-0 positive result with three important points earned.

Overall we worked a lot harder than we needed to with more contact soccer than I would like to see.

Positioning issues, first touch control problems and many direct passes to green shirts contributed to possession challenges.

Many times we are holding the ball just one step too long and getting closed down  work hard on one touch passing.

Having said that

Completed passes were 85 in the first half and 102 in the second. This is right up there with some of our best possession/control games this year.

Only 8 Eagle crosses in the game suggesting we are not working the offensive corners effectively.

Our lone goal was a short pass breakaway set up from the midfield near the end of the game.

A well struck free kick hit the cross bar - we headed an open net ball over the net - we buried 6 in the keeper's belly.

Goals against -

Free kick from a foul just outside of our box front and centre. Scored on the wall side top right corner - a good strike but suggests our wall set-up needs work.

Second goal crossed from a bad angle on the right that found the far post.

Third goal from the right side but fumbled by the keeper - and dropped over the line.

Six offensive shots 1 v 1 with the opposing keeper squandered.

One of those was a creative set play on an indirect kick from the penalty spot (pass back).

The London coach said "they were lucky" after the game - and he was right. Reminiscent of last year's first game with them when they started with 8 players and we still lost 1-2. The London coach had the same comment last year.

Notables, Chloe Steph and Katie not available. Megan got a quality hit to the nose at the halfway mark of the first half.

The Grimsby coach was ejected because the ref overheard him instruct a player to kick our player in the head.

A tough ref, but he called a fair game and kept control of the event.

Well done Eagles...you can score and you have sent a clear message to everyone else that you will face in the future.

A reminder to everyone, when the score starts running up and you feel you have control of the game you must all stay absolutely focussed with full effort.

You run the risk of getting injured when you back off against an opponent who is coming harder than ever. It is always safer to be the hammer rather than the nail. BT

******************************************* First game commentary........ Most of the individual stats are posted on the web site. A sense of deja vu (last season) with our season opening with a tie that never should have been. Overall we played a dominant, less than glamorous game, but failed to get the ball in the net when needed. We watched Grimsby's game change drastically downhill when we finally put one behind them. Next time we must score early to improve the dominance and keep them on their heels. Brittany Kadwell ( 8) scored on us from the left wing. (power shot) - for the record. Some observations.... A slow start out of the gate......everyone has to be there from the opening whistle to the end.

Some obvious energy lacking in some players - fitness? - game prep?

We had 12 corner kicks - says something good about our offensive pressure.

With the exception of Tonya coming up as the target player, I did not see either of our corner kick set ups put in play.

Corners are high quality opportunities to score - player placement and strategic pressure on the defenders is essential - we missed 12 opportunities as we stood around waiting for something to happen.

17 shots - 1 goal....we need more hunger in front of the net......we were far too polite in many cases.

The biggest weakness in the game was our ball control.

36 connected passes (and that included balls to the corner) is absolutely unacceptable.

This shows that we were scrapping out 1 v 1's from Grimsby rather than controlling the play of the game, supporting the ball and managing our energy better. First touches and errant passes must improve.

First to the ball - sometimes.....needs to get to 90%.

Opening day jitters are over - you survived for one point, but two precious points got away.

I am grateful to the walking wounded, especially Tonya, who suffered through the game with foot trouble to produce the result. No training on Thursday.

Next "training" is our COVI tournament on the weekend. Please be at the field by 8 am on Saturday morning for our 9 am start.

I'll be running up to the fields tomorrow to check them out and will advise the details.

As always, comments and observations about our game activities are welcome from parents and players (and our Club Head Coach) who was out to watch. BT

GEORGETOWN AWAY GAME JUNE 1.05
There are sometimes games where we overwhelmed the opposition, won the game handily, but played ugly.

This was one of those.

Score 4-1

7 shots on the Georgetown net

3 shots on the Eagle net

10 corners in the Georgetown end (only 1 converted)

0 corners against

Possession in the Georgetown end

1st half  34.5 min  78%

2nd half  33.5 min  74%

Completed passes by Eagles

1st half  43

2nd half  30

Offsides

Georgetown - 2

Eagles  0

Observations

School soccer continues to take its toll on our league play effectiveness.

Several of our players had played/trained either the same day or day prior in their school programs. It showed.

I clearly understand now why my peer coaches cringe at the school soccer program.

The energy drain is significant when we add school practice and game loads into the Rep schedule that is already intense.

I have tried to balance our own training to recognize this issue.

Needless to say, I will be glad to see the end of school soccer this year.

The absence of Ariana and Corrin required the call-up help of Sarah Taylor from the 14B team. We are grateful for her contribution to provide needed pressure on the Georgetown defense.

In future I will be bolstering the bench with strategic call-ups one for one.

I need lots of notice where possible to organize this.

We continue to miss simple opportunities 1 on 1 with the keeper.

We will train intensely in this area. These high potential opportunities cannot be wasted.

Our corner kicks continue to produce unacceptable results.

More work of course and more hunger at the net needed.

There was far too much individual play on the field  holding the ball too long with little space.

I expect to see improved support and more one touch passing. This had a lot to do with our low energy levels.

Georgetown was quick to shut down anyone who fiddled around with the ball.

The defensive line has to step up more against the opposing offense and cut off passes, especially against weak teams like this one.

A 10 yard gap between our back line and the opposing forwards allows their forwards to function as 3 additional midfielders.

This put us at a numbers down disadvantage in the midfield throughout the game.

Too many shot attempts from bad angles. We need to be looking for the trailing player with a better chance to finish the job.

Too many passes/crosses in the air that would have been more effective on the ground.

Time to rest, regroup and refresh folks.

3 points to the good.

I need everyones A game when we face North Miss next Thurs June 9.

COVI TOURNAMENT SUMMARY MAY 28.29.05
Eagles,

The objective of every competition is to play and win with class, skill and determined effort.

You must each come out of your competitions knowing that you did your very best, with class, skill and determined effort, regardless of the result.

Our semi-final game against York United was ours for the taking in spite of our player limitations.

We will all long remember the five shots on net that we delivered that somehow were either stopped or missed the target.

Each and every one of those shots would have been in the net on a different day.

Our last game of the tournament - the semi-final was a test of your personal fortitude.

Your energy levels and composure were extraordinary considering this was our fifth game of the weekend with little relief from the bench.

You are my heroes.

I wish you all had been given the opportunity to play out the final - you had earned it in your semi-final game- but the score rules.

A timely reminder that the ball MUST go in the net to achieve your team targets.

What did we gain this weekend.........?

- You played some great soccer in fabulous weather conditions and on excellent facilities.

- You played some very smart, thinking soccer under pressure - the final game free kick touch pass was brilliant.

- You felt the pain of losing a game you had under control - it happens.

- You delivered a clear message that you are a team to be well respected for your skill, your class and your determination.

- You taught yourself what works and what doesn't in your team shape.

- You learned how far, deep down inside, you can reach when your team needs you.

- You learned what happens, and the price you pay, when you lose your cool.

You have all been in this game long enough to know that some games are just plain ugly.

The ugly can be provided by a weak/biased ref, your opponents and their parents/coaches or the playing conditions.

One way or another we must all persevere the ugly and get the job done with class, skill and determination.

You will never be guided by me or any of our coaching staff to cheat, play dirty, use unsavoury language or develop any other habit that falls into the category of unsportsmanlike conduct.

I am sorry that you had to deal with the Markham team today, but this is life, and sometimes we just have to deal with it.

There will be others.

Over the weekend, I received a number of praising comments from our opposing coaches and parents who thoroughly enjoyed playing against the classy Eagles.

As your coach, this adds tremendous value to the time that I provide to you and underlines what the Erin Mills Soccer Club represents.

You are my heroes and quality ambassadors for your Club.

Bring it all back on Wednesday in Georgetown......you have a message to deliver.

BT

The tournament stats are below.

As of this moment I have not heard what the final outcome was.

TOURNAMENT STATS

Game 1 - vs Aurora - 13 active players with walking wounded

Score 1 - 0

Shots on goal
For - 5
Against - 3

Completed passes
1st 1/2 - 30
2nd 1/2 - 30

Corners
Eagles - 4
Aurora - 0

Free balls delivered to the Aurora keeper
5 in the 1st, 0 in the second (usually happens when we forget the corners)

Time in opposing end
20.5 mins each half - 68%

Game 2 - vs Glen Shields - 13 active players with walking wounded

Score 2 - 0

Shots on goal
For - 6
Against - 2

Completed passes

1st 1/2 - 40
2nd 1/2 - 40

Corners
Eagles - 5
Glen Shields - 2 (both in second half)

Free balls delivered to the Glen Shields keeper
5 in the 1st, 7 in the second (usually happens when we forget the corners)

Time in opposing end
20.75 mins each half - 69%

Game 3 - vs Unionville - 13 active players with walking wounded

Score 5 - 1

Shots on goal
For - 8
Against - 2

Completed passes
1st 1/2 - 50
2nd 1/2 - 40

Corners
Eagles - 2 (in first half)
Unionville - 1 (in second half)

Free balls delivered to the Unionville keeper
0 in the 1st, 0 in the second (usually happens when we forget the corners)

GAME REPORT APRIL 2.05 VS NORTH MISS
Game result 3-1 for North Miss. They control first place for the winter season.

We still have to win next weekend against Woodbridge to secure second place. A respectable off-season.

I was pleased with the focus and attitude that everyone brought to this game. The pre-game locker room environment was full of confidence.

We went into this game with one clear objective - to play a quality game - win or lose.

Overall the performance was pretty good in spite of some uncharacteristic misses in our net. It happens.

Unfortunately we continued to struggle in the offensive zone with only 3 shots on the net plus two attempts that missed.
Corner pressure play continues to be virtually non-existent.
I yield to the outdoor season.

North Miss had 5 shots on our net and 6 quality attempts that missed the target.

I would like us to be more conscious of where opponent runners are going rather than where they are.

Ball support was often non-existent in the second half.

Completed passes in the game.....

1st half - 50 (acceptable)
2nd half - 35 (not in control)

Our last game recorded 106 completed passes in a game we controlled from start to finish.

1 v 1 performance

1st half - 95 opportunities (58% won)

2nd half - 56 opportunities (62% won)

Winning percentage is expected to improve. We cannot go into the summer getting knocked off the ball as often as we did today.

This, combined with our passes completed, clearly illustrates that overall, we let North Miss have the second half and their winning result.

I will make the detailed per player stats available tomorrow. They will be visible to all.
It is intended to help me measure where improvement is needed and where our strength lies.
I fully expect this to become a competition among the most focussed players.

Each player must recognize their personal contribution on the field and where they succeed and where they need to improve.

! v 1 stats tell me more than just who won more than they lost.
I also see who is actively in the play and who is not.

These stats do not include those situations where a player intercepted a pass (stepped up and avoided a 1 v 1).
Our next stats will reflect that as a win.

I want everyone to understand that statistics of any kind are not anyone's enemy, nor are they the complete answer to any game situation.
Stats do however bring the basics of the game into the limelight so each of you have a variety of personal challenges to develop your skills and contribute in the most effective way to your team.

Thanks to our "red shirts" on the bench who compiled today's stats.
The US universities call their injured roster "red shirts" because that is what they wear on the bench while inactive during competition.
They wear a red shirt obviously.....

I am always open to suggestions and comments.

Bring on the real game...It starts April 10 at Iceland.

GAME REPORT MARCH 26.05 VS MARKHAM
A quality result and 3 points to the good.

We tracked the number of completed passes in this game and recorded 106. This suggests that we were controlling the game fairly well.

Scoring goals continues to be our challenge.

While we only had one serious challenge on our own net, we only put 4 balls on the Markham net. Fortunately one went in.

This still stems from our failure to work the corners all of the time, split out the defenders and look for trailing attackers.

Fitness among a few players is still lacking. Playing time will go those who provide the energy on the field, get to the right place at the right time and win their 1 v 1s.

Next weeks game will require your finest performance of the winter season when we will be setting the tone for our summer ventures against North Miss.

Get your sleep, eat properly and load up on the water all week in preparation. If you wait until the day before .you are too late.

One last point, before the game I asked everyone how we did against Markham in the previous two games. Only a handful had given it a thought.

Everyone is expected to review previous games reports so that you understand what we did right and where we needed to improve.

You must prepare yourselves mentally before each and every competition using all of the resources available to you.

Be assured that North Miss is absolutely worried about you as a team and you deserve to show them they ought to worry.

Coach Steve will be running practice on Wednesday. I have one last supplier session with the 2006 uniform suppliers.

We are shifting into Phase 3 of our summer training program which accelerates fitness training in our practice schedule.

Be prepared and come well hydrated.

On Sunday I have scheduled a player team meeting from 3 pm to 6 pm at the clubhouse. Count on a 5 k run as part of that session so come prepared.

There will be a similar meeting the following Sunday.

Remember you are elite athletes with a strong commitment to your team  and hard work goes with the responsibility.

BT

GAME REPORT FEB 26.05 (AND RAMBLINGS)
A positive result with a 4-0 win and 3 points to the good.
(North Miss won over West Rouge 2-1 in a rough and tough tumble I heard)
No news on Woodbridge/Markham yet.

We logged 16 shots at the Brams net. Brams had 0 at our net.

No one will disagree that we needed a soft game to regain some confidence from the last 4 non-productive games.

The game overall was a bit of a sleeper, especially in the second half, as we allowed our game to drift into the Brams speed of play.

I was happy to see that we used this opportunity to start working our attacking corners - we still need more......

I counted not less than 8 passes that came from sideline kicks that crossed the far sideline untouched. There should be support no further away than the midfield point to avoid this.

Our defensive line started again to step up to the ball.

Overall, pressure on the ball still needs to step up. We are allowing too much time for the other team to set up.

Next game is March 26 - a long, long stretch of no games.
I'll be looking to find some open time at the OSA to arrange some exhibition activity between now and then.
It is also possible that we may be on the Iceland fields with ADP between now and then so check out your outdoor shoes for fit.

Next weekend in the U15 Ontario Cup semi-finals and finals.

Same also for our U18 Eagles who are favoured to win.

I encourage everyone to take in some of the weekend activity and of course to cheer on our Eagle sister team.
I will be away on Saturday visiting family in Fort Erie, but will be planning to be at the OSA on Sunday.

Semi's for U15 are at 10 am and 11 am with the final at 1 pm

Semis for the U18 are at 11 am with the final at 2 pm.

Next Wednesday's practice will be conducted by a guest instructor, Joe Corapi from the Club.

We will be bringing him into our practices from time to time throughout the season on a for-fee basis.

Joe has contributed his skills to our U14 and U16 girls teams to a national gold and national silver medal respectively in recent years.

Joe is currently the technical coach for the U18 OISL A team (same team from before) and the OWSL U21 team (champions last year).

We are doing the selection process for our new uniform line-up for 2006.

You will be involved in influencing the design/styles when we get to that point.

Saturday had me in Rep Director meetings from 7:30 am to 1:30 pm including two trips to Ken Giles arena.

Next week I have two more supplier sessions on Monday and Tuesday.

I am off to Edmonton on a business meeting on Wed, returning late on Thursday.

As always, wherever I am, I am only a phone call away. Feel free to call me anytime on my cell at 416-347-0037.

We are blessed with many resources including our team staff and other club resources who can keep our machine tuned and improving.

Everyone involved is committed to providing you with the best soccer program we can provide.

As announced at our last practice, I am very pleased to introduce our last two roster additions for 2005.

Lauren McCracken hails from last year's Georgetown team and she brings strong attacking midfield skills to our team.

Gabrielle Perez joins us from Oakville and brings speed and a keen sense for the net to our attacking mid also.

Both Lauren and Gabrielle were selected for their impressive hard work and skill demonstrated in training and their fierce desire to be part of our team.

We are blessed with the finest group of young athletes in the league who have a clear understanding of teamwork, hard work, results and fun.

Over the next few weeks we will be focussing on our teambuilding activities.

On March 9 Laura, Dani and Andrea will be joining me on the club's "Showcase Tour of America" joining with a mix of older girls from our sister teams.

A team of girls and a team of boys is heading south to compete in showcase activities for the benefit of US college scouts.

Next year and the year after we will have more players travelling as high school graduation approaches.

We return on March 18.

Kristina has secured her spot on the U15 provincial team travelling to Florida during the March break period.

So we will be "whole" again after March break.

I encourage everyone to focus on personal fitness training during this down period.

It only takes two weeks of general inactivity to lose your fitness peak so dig deep and promise yourself, and your team, that you will keep your part of our machine well oiled.

I have posted the training schedule for the next 10 days or so on the team web site.

If anyone cannot open the "Parents and Players" page please let me know right away.

Have fun all and thank for all of your commitment and dedication.

For parents, April 30 is a planned Casino trip that is always a great time, and especially a great time to get to know each other.

March 12 is a morning on the ACC Raptors court - details to follow.

GAME REPORT NORTH MISS FEB 12.05

North Miss - 2 Erin Mills - 0

Saturday's game was one of those events that every coach has to sit back and reflect on what happened.

North Mississauga wanted this game in a very bad way.

They set out to intimidate our team and they succeeded.

NM wanted this game so badly that the Club Head Coach was on the bench.

Their cheers after the game were uncharacteristic for them.

They are usually quiet in their victories since they are "expected".

Before the game there was a lot of subtle stuff going on in the hallways outside of our change room.

NM was unusually loud with their hallway warm-up routines. They also took up most of the hallway preventing others from sharing the space.

On the field before the game NM were once again louder and more animated than usual.

NM were determined to be better mentally prepared than us and at the same time make sure we knew it.

Your coach takes full responsibility for letting you go into this game with the candles burning low.

Every game, whether we win or lose, must teach us something.

The Mental Game

Firstly, we must all learn to be stronger in our mental game.

You are all quality, skilled soccer athletes, but these skills cannot shine if your emotions get out of control.

In this game we were more worried about losing the contest than we were about taking charge and doing the job.

As we got off our focus we started backing off, applying less pressure on the ball and late pressure. We had to work too hard chasing the ball.

Several started getting emotional which further reduced focus, distracted others and gave a great deal of strength to NM who got the satisfaction of watching us come unglued.

Strategically, NM did nothing differently in their game from our first meeting. We simply let them play their game and let them get our goat.

Success from the corners

If we recall our few quality opportunities, they came from set plays originating deep in the NM end.

We did this effectively in our first game against NM.

Our front line attack group continues to ignore our game plan change to work the ball into the corners, open up the defensive shape and pull the ball back.

I don't know what it is going to take, but perhaps we may have to start moving players into new positions around the field until we find the right group that will make it work.

One goal in 4 games has to send a clear message to all that we have to change our game approach.

What we are doing DOES NOT WORK.

No one can change this alone. We must have quality ball movement on the attack from the corners.

Stepping Up

When we back off opponents we lose the opportunity to win the ball first and allow 1v1 situations to happen.

This is more work than just stepping up and taking it first.

Opponent strikers who have 10 yards between them and our defenders, are allowed to function as midfield support. They have a tremendous advantage to control the game flow.

We did this effectively in our first game against NM.

Blocking Free Kicks

A large number of free kicks from NM went unblocked.The nearest player must interfere with play at the 3 yard distance anywhere on the field.

Anticipating Player Movement

If I did dwell on one thing before the game it was concentrating on where opponents are going and not where they are.

We did this exceptionally well in our first game.

Overall we did a poor job on this fundamental game strategy on Saturday all over the field.

It was most noticeable in our own goal area where, time and time again, first touch went to NM because we didn't see them coming.

We must fight to get every ball first - one way or another.

1 V 1 Battles

Usually we are effective in our 1 v 1 battles. (if we allow them to happen).

Saturday saw many, many battles lost.

We must win the majority of our 1 v 1's to effectively contribute on the field.

What's Been Learned?

Our indoor training and competition is a training exercise for the "real game" on the grass.

Indoor helps put personal skill development under a microscope and demands quality 3 v 3 ball movement on the field.

Indoor competition is intended to help you keep your competitive mind alive.

I am ready to accept defeat in any game where we are beaten by superior skill.

It is unacceptable to suffer defeat from self-inflicted mental lapses.

Everyone must understand that this situation must never return to this team.

I am counting on more leadership from each and every one of you in the locker room, on the field and in our training.

I am counting on each of you to pay more attention to your team mates than your "self".

It is time to get "mad' at yourself and promise that no one will ever get your goat again.

What's Happened?

You lost an indoor soccer game - no big deal.

You lost your first competitive game in a very long time - people who sell insurance would say you were overdue. You are human.

You learned that you have to be mentally tough - all of the time- dig deep and help your team mates rise to the occasion.

You have 5 more indoor games to show yourselves you are mentally ready for outdoor.

GAME REPORT WEST ROUGE JAN 15.05
Another disappointing tie game result (1-1).

With 3 ties in the books this is now 6 points lost and a commanding lead in our league.

We should be very thankful that we brought this game level in the dying minutes.

We should also be grateful that Woodbridge also delivered a draw to North Miss (1-1).

Brams and Markham drew a 2-2 tie as well, so nothing changes in the league. Eagles are still on top and remain the team to beat.

Fitness

With few exceptions, whatever fitness we had in hand before Xmas seems to have been lost over the holidays and has not returned yet.

This must become your individual priority before you get into the final stretch of your indoor season.

This will be accomplished by flat out individual effort at team practices and through whatever extra workouts you can muster on your own time.

Your skipping ropes are a good start.

Beep test results will be targeted at level 10 or better on a weekly basis.

Our poor fitness shone throughout the game as players "waited" rather than attacked, "waited" rather than anticipated passing lanes, and "waited" rather than created support for the ball.

When we weren't "waiting" we were working far too hard chasing opponents and reacting to their game and not playing ours.

Lead or follow ?

Scoring

Once again we failed to capitalize on our many scoring opportunities.

With the game at 0-0 we missed on 7 great chances that would have put West Rouge back on their heels.

West Rouge got 4 good chances in the game and scored on their first shot - a 1 v 1 with the keeper after a defensive breakdown.

We put up another 11 chances for the balance of the game - again missing on focus lapses.

With 3 minutes to go Nicole Spencer came roaring out of the backfield to nail a sideline free kick pass from Leanne to level the game at 1-1.

This flash of brilliance will go down as the one moment in the game that someone actually used some speed and tact to support the ball.

The rest of the game will be remembered for a lot of "waiting for things to happen".

At practice last week you spent time working on your attack shape from the corners. You left it in the gym.

In this game we continued our old habits in crowding the net and letting our opponents box us in and out from their net.

Our opponents are getting smarter in their game strategies as the season goes on - so must you.

Even the best of teams have slumps - and we shouldn't consider ourselves immune.

But even the best of teams know that the need to get fit, knuckle down, improve focus, and adapt to change, is essential in turning things around.

I am counting on everyone to do your part as true leaders in your soccer world. Lead or follow...Hammer or the nail....what's your choice?

Enjoy first place while it lasts - you have to earn it from now on.

You can't continue to depend on the misfortune of other teams who want your spot.

Have fun while you are at it.

WOODBRIDGE JAN 8.05
Good effort from all but a disappointing tie and 2 points handed back to North Miss. You still hold the division lead and remain undefeated..

We had a full bench today but still far too many running out of gas out there. This was with 3 front lines !!

Fitness is the order of the day.

Poor first touches were making things more difficult than they needed to be and our structure around the offensive net needs some definite work.

We had 18 quality opportunities to sink the ball vs the 4 that Woodbridge had. Once again we controlled a game without the needed scoring result.

Expect the next few practices to be focussed on fitness, shape around the offensive net and first touch.

Just a reminder that I am in Chicago next week for business. Coach Steve and Coach Lyndsay will be structuring practice.

Next game Jan 15 West Rouge (they tied Brams today). North Miss and Markham were set to play at 6 pm today. Perhaps Markham will do us a favour.

ONTARIO INDOOR CUP 2005 - TOURNAMENT REVIEW
Much like the Xmas tournament that got away from us, we were just one step away from victory.

Our game against Oshawa illustrated our usual slow start - so slow I thought we were going to get destroyed.

Once our Eagles settled out the nerves and got into the game we started giving Oshawa a game.

We had a few glorious opportunities to take control but got stung with a minute and a half left in the game to go down 0-1.

The Georgetown game wasn't much more than a practice scrimmage, but more so it illustrated our focus problem on finishing on our scoring opportunities.

We must all get hungrier and more accurate in our scoring chances to survive in this indoor game.

Against Vaughan (we needed a tie at least), I was convinced that we were well on our way to winning that game, but again we had difficulty finding the back of the net.

Vaughan caught us on an missed offensive corner kick play and went up 1-0.

The Eagles went flat for a period of time and turned control over to Vaughan.

We came back and created some new opportunities but we lacked the hunger to get the ball and get the job done around their net.

In the end Vaughan scored again from a bad corner angle to go up 2-0.

We had a number of players at less than peak performance for a variety of reasons.

All players need to address what is affecting their playing performance and deal with your responsibilities - especially those you can control like a good night's sleep.

It is time to recover and get ready for our Saturday league game against Woodbridge (3 pm). Be assured they will come out with a vengeance.

Provided that we are healed and well rested we should have no problem getting the job done. The ball has to go into the net and we have to work to get it.

See you at practice this week.

Comments about our Xmas tournament play are welcome from all.

Both events got away only by a nose - but that's all it takes between glory and an early trip home.

We will take another run at the March Break tournament if there are enough of us around.

XMAS TOURNAMENT REPORT DEC 22.04

The team delivered themselves an early Christmas present today with a stellar performance at the OSA Centre.

We opened up with a sluggish 1-1 tie with half of next year's Georgetown squad. We controlled the game but failed to bury the ball when we needed to.
This game was written off as the "early morning blues" - (something we all need to grow out of).

Our next event faced York United (Newmarket) 4th place last year in the CGSL Premier (SRSL Elite Equiv) and we sunk them 5-1.

The third game in the qualifying round faced up with Scarborough United, the FIRST PLACE CGSL Premier team that qualified for OYSL in 2005.
We handled them easily with a quality 2-0 win.

We earned a semi-final berth in spite of our earlier tied game.

The final game set us against Vaughan Azzuri (3rd place OYSL last year tied with Dixie).
The Eagles created several grand scoring opportunities that just wouldn't drop. We did a great job of shutting down their key striker and limited them to almost no shots.

Alas, we ended the 25 minute game at 0-0 and faced a penalty shoot-out to decide the finalist.
After 7 shots each, Vaughan moved on to the finals and beat out Kanata for the title.

(We are still undefeated - I don't count shoot-outs)

The team moved mountains this weekend.....

1- Anyone from the outside who thinks Erin Mills victories are a result of "luck" just aren't paying attention. You consistently slay dragons (high ranked teams)everywhere in your path by playing superior soccer over your opponents.

Sooner or later, our critics will quit making excuses for their losses and face the simple fact that we are consistently better than they are.

2- You learned new strategies that will carry you through the Ontario Indoor Cup and the balance of the indoor league season.

3- Finally, I think you all actually clearly understand just how good you are. (But stay humble)

4 - You are all classy competitors.

Special kudos to Nicole Spencer who played under a lot of physical discomfort for 3 of the 4 games. Although she sat out the final game, Nicole did take on the chance to perform in the penalty kicks and landed one for us.

Also thanks to Stephanie who stepped in during the last game to fill the defensive gap with a huge performance.

Well done everyone.

Next practice will be sometime before Jan 2 (Ontario Cup) at the clubhouse - perhaps Jan 1 - I will confirm.

We play Oshawa, Vaughan and Georgetown in the preliminary round and none of them should scare us.
I firmly expect that they will all be very respectful (worried) of our record going into this competition.

Personal fitness training between now and then is essential.

ole

GAME REPORT DEC 18.04 vs BRAMS
If we measured this game by the way we played instead of the score we would have been on the losing end.

Fair enough, you won the game 2-0 and earned the 3 points.

Your coaches measure the game on your performance as a team and the Brams game was not a winner.

You had 13 quality scoring opportunities to Brams 2.

Everyone has to make sure they are focussed and ready when scoring opportunities appear.

Saturday's game is a classic example of what happens when you leave your "A" game at home or in the change room.

About half of the team was playing at full tilt with the balance putting in time.

If you were less than optimum on Saturday, the cause needs to be recognized so that you can correct it before you go on the field next time.

When you step on the field you must be there with a plan to "make a difference" on the field. You must plan to "make things happen" rather than wait for things to happen for you.

You were fortunate on Saturday to gain all of the points. You were at serious risk of drawing a tie or worse.

So going forward your team is counting on you to control your sleep patterns, your nutrition and water intake, and your focus to perform at your best.

West Rouge did us a favour this weekend drawing a 0-0 tie with North Miss and giving us a full 3 point lead to protect.

Now, even more so, you have become the team to beat and you have a reputation to protect. Only complete focus and effort will deliver it.

The Wednesday tournament is a warm-up for our Ontario Cup performance on Jan 2 (the one that matters) and you must be determined to show it all.
Our games are only 25 minutes long so scoring early and protecting a lead will be essential.
If we only have half a team appearing at max performance again you will be challenged.

I count on everyone on the team looking after each other.

Keep the ball on the ground, support the ball with speed and come back quickly to defend. (these fundamentals were largely missing on Saturday).

Whenever we are finished on Wed the team is invited to celebrate at San Francesco's (Winston Churchill and Unity Gate). I'll pick up the tab for the team.
I hope all can join us for pizza, wings, etc. and refreshments.

Opening game is at 8:30 am. Please be on site for 7:30 am.

Start pumping the water now and manage your sleep well.

BT

GAME REPORT DEC 11.04 VS NORTH MISS
Well Eagles you got another monkey off your back with a classy win against North Miss today. (2-1)
I could feel the building shake when the North Miss jaws dropped after our second goal. It shook again when the final buzzer went and a whole lot of hearts burst.
Your earned every bit of the 3 points with quality soccer. You were a better team than they were today and every Eagle made a diference on the field.
North Miss was boasting that they hadn't had a shot on net yet this indoor season. Well - we delivered the first two shots and both went in the net.
If there is one big difference between their team and ours it is how we wear our losses. North Miss got so flustered they brought out the trash mouths to our players, started cursing at the ref, and one player in the handshake line-up was being "less than respectful" as she passed by everyone.
They were already blaming each other on the way into the dressing room after the game.

I hope everyone pays special notice to how stupid this kind of behaviour looks and sounds. Make sure that all of our post game chatter is positive and respectful no matter what you hear.

I actually got the impression that the ref was leaning to us in the late part of the game because of the garbage going on.

I will never coach players who can't control their mouths or who bring dirty play onto the field.

I am proud to be attached to the class act you all deliver.

You have turned the tables in the league and now own first place outright.

Your undefeated record in league play is intact.

At half-time I asked everyone if you believed in yourself now - there was a resounding YES and a confidence buzzing that will carry for a long time to come.

We changed the team shape a bit for this game and directed our focus on a strong defensive posture. This also served to show a different "machine" to the North Miss coach who has been studying our games lately.

Today's field structure will become an alternate model when we are facing pressure situations.

We can all be assured that North Miss will be back with a vengeance in our next meeting.

We are now the team to beat for the OISL championship.

Let's all stay focussed and keep those ADP skills developing.

Congratulations to all. Head Coach Josef was impressed as well as he watched from the gallery!!

GAME REPORT DEC 4 VS MARKHAM
Perhaps the best game we put on the floor this indoor season although we settled for a 1-1 tie.

A great effort from everyone although we need to focus on a tighter defensive posture.

We had far too much pressure in our defensive third with some defenders being caught up field and getting split out.

When we face Markham again we have to find ways to spread out the Markham defence who did a good job of closing down the scoring zone.

The undefeated streak continues. Keep up the good work.

BT

GAME REPORT NOV 26.04 - WEST ROUGE
A quality 2-0 result in a game that was a bit sloppy with line change miscues that the coaching staff will take full responsibility for.

This was the first indoor game that delivered us the strong physical play that is characteristic of the Central League. Everyone stood up to the challenge and delivered the win.

Those players who are taking the extra ADP training are certainly showing an improvement in their first touch skills and developing a no fear approach to bigger, stronger players.

We still need a better vision on he field to cut down the number of clean passes ending up on the wrong team's boots.

The next time we play this team we will wear green shorts and green socks to improve teammate visibility.

We still have some work to do in our defensive positioning and 1 v 1 patience. this weeks practice will be focused here.

Markham is next opponent on Saturday at 3pm.

This is a good team with a couple of dangerous players - #11 and #5.

We can expect the same physical game we had last week so come prepared.

This will be our final preparation for our North Miss game the week following. I expect this league will come down to a competition between us and them.

GAME REPORT WOODBRIDGE NOV 20.04
The Nov 20 game against Woodbridge was a well deserved win even though our opponents considered it a close game and totally tilted in our favour by the referee !

Our scoring opportunities were five times more than Woodbridge - so I'm not sure where 'close" comes from other than the score.

The game clearly illustrates the importance of finishing on our chances. The game was far "closer" than it should have been.

We learned how the tables can turn quickly when we go into a lull and sleep during the possession changes. (Our first goal against)

With the exception of the last 15 minutes of the first half our Eagles were in control of the game.

During that 15 minutes we stopped supporting the ball, started panic chasing and forgot to anticipate play. When this happens again we must all remember to get possession and focus on slowing the play down in control until we get organized again.

Everyone is responsible for keeping everyone on track.

I would still like to see us making some more creative runs in the offensive zone to find more working space for scoring opportunities.

I would like to see more strategy planning on the bench between shifts among the players.

Let's all keep working on our ball control and 1 v 1 in our weekly practice time. The extra time on the ball in ADP is clearly making an impact on personal skills.

I need to know about any physical challenges before and during games. Please don't drag injury/illness problems onto the field without my knowledge.

North Miss will be our toughest challenge this winter and we must keep our game pace and style in form to prepare for them.

Well done everyone - you slew the first dragon. We meet Woodbridge twice more and we must be ready to keep them in their place.

West Rouge is next - 3 pm on Sat.

NOV 13.04 OISL OPENING GAME
A good 4-0 result (3 points) in spite of the game ending with 13.45 to play.

I haven't heard yet how the Brams player made out - we wish her well.

I think this Brams team is going to have a long, long indoor season........

Our game was more of a practice than a competition - and just as well. We needed to get a game or two under our belt to work out the kinks in our game management.

We all watched a quality display of passing combinations throughout the game. Ball control was excellent once we all settled down.

Your teamwork, communication and creative movement on the field gave the spectators good entertainment.

We survived a few sloppy moments but we all anticipated some blips as we adjust to the indoor game.

....the least of which - we played on side for the whole game.......a hard habit to break.

Be assured that our other competition will not come as easy.

We play Woodbridge next week at 6pm. They got nailed 4-0 by Markham on Sat - a result that probably surprised both teams.

Woodbridge will be regrouping and planning on a better result next week. The change room scene after their game was not pretty I heard.

Well done to all - you are a class act.

GAME REPORT MISSISSAUGA SEP 15
Judging by everyone's reaction tonight, one would never know that this was a moment to celebrate......the team secured their Premier Division Championship and their rightful place in the Elite Division for 2005. The goal that everyone has sweat bullets for all summer.

The Falcons were playing hard for a tie tonight...too bad for them. The Eagles came out to do the job, and, as we expected, Mississauga was playing a "little bit smarter" than the last two outings we had. They kept the score to a respectable 4-0 but never had a shot on our net......

We came out strong then started to lag a bit in the late part of the first half. First to the ball wins the game....second to the ball creates more work than we all want to do. We started to tire.....

Everyone needs to remember the critical need to hydrate yourselves (drink lots of water) for two days before competition. This is especially important during the school week when school environments will dehydrate you and rob you of your stamina and performance. DRINK, DRINK, DRINK.........all the time.

Four games left in our league season.

The new "GOAL" has to be maintaining our undefeated season and running up our stats for some additional season records.

The challenge will be for all of us to stay focussed and conditioned to see the season finished in full form.

Weekday practices are not practical since it gets dark so early. Everyone will need to keep up their fitness running and ball work on their own time.

Looking ahead, we have the Eagle Cup to get through this weekend.
This is a very winnable tournament with the teams entered.

We are fortunate to have 3 players from the CGSL Woodbridge team joining us for the weekend as guest players to fill out our roster.

Your next league game is on Monday in Burlington. I will be missing this game because of a business event I have to attend in Chicago for the week.
I'll be waiting for the call. Coach Steve and Coach Lynz will help you make it happen.

I will be back for the game on Thursday against Georgetown.....

I am counting on everyone to stay focussed on the results needed and the training and the water you need to maintain.

Congratulations to everyone. You all worked very hard for your division title. We will celebrate later when it is all done.

Thanks again to Lauren from the Select, Danielle and Jessica from the 14B, and Amanda and Melanie from the 13A who contributed so much to today's quality performance. We would not have done this without you.

2004 OSCAR TOURNAMENT REVIEW
We certainly had the toughest draw in this tournament.

Our opening game against the Elite Oakville Impact was dominated by the Eagles with shots in favour at 26-6. The score was 2-3 against.
Although we didn't record the win, we walked away comfortably knowing that we can compete in the Elite division where we know we belong.
Continued work is necessary on our finish focus. We wasted countless simple scoring opportunities and let by a couple of easy balls against us.
The Oakville Striker (Premier) coach was quite disappointed that we didn't win this game.......seem there is an internal rivalry.

The second game was against the OYSL Pickering Power Falcons and we got an education that showed how wide the gap is from Premier/Elite to the top of the OYSL where Pickering dominates. The experience was valuable to understand how much further we need to advance in our skills and general training to play at that level.
Pickering earned their 5-0 win with quality play.
We were overdue for a reality check.

Our third and final game against the Elite Burlington Cobras ended thankfully in a 1--1 tie with a late own goal from an Eagle corner kick.
The game in general was less than pretty and I don't think we were fully prepared mentally for this early game.
We were also roster limited from injuries.
But all in all we showed ourselves that we can hold our own in the Elite category.

Somehow the Rochester, Michigan team held Pickering to a 0-0 tie in the semi-final and then lucked out with a corner kick golden goal in overtime.
Rochester has 2 shots on net......one went in at the right time.

Oakville Demons OYSL team dominated their semi-final against Woodbridge and the final game against Rochester 3-0.

Many thanks to Molly from the G13A team, Lauren from the Select team and Alex, Justine, Joanna and Olivia from the 13B team who fulfilled our roster and the opportunity to perform in this tournament.

GAME REPORT - BURLINGTON AUG 26.04
Another quality result girls...3 more points and a stranglehold on your championship goal. 3 more wins to go to lock it up.

We all expected a close game tonight against the Sharks and we met a tough defensive team on our home field.

With two of our big guns away for this game, the challenge was on.

I purposely didn't advertise our game around the club because I didn't want anything "different" going on in spite of the importance of the game.

You will have noticed that many, many people around the club came out watch. They have heard of your tremendous success and you have a growing fan club who appreciate the good soccer you are playing.

Many thanks to Jessica, Danielle, Sarah, Reem and Abbie for their strong contributions from the 1990 B squad. You made the difference tonight.

We only logged 15 shots against 5 from Burlington.

My stats record is suspect for this game (I was doing them), so have a look at the game stats and let me know if there are any errors or omissions.

We still continue to produce lots of corner kick opportunities (8) but still can't get them into the net......more homework.

I was particularly impressed with our midfield core tonight who dug deep and earned their continued reputation as the "best in the division". Our games are controlled and often determined by our midfield control and tonight was no exception.

Several of the players were feeling less than perfect tonight but they bravely played through their discomfort. True champions they are.

We set out with our "first to the ball" strategy and the gang maintained it from start to finish.

I heard after the game tonight that the Burlington Club Head Coach has been working with the Sharks for the past two weeks to prepare them just for tonight's game.

We look forward to meeting them for the 3rd and final time this season with ALL of our guns in place.

I still remember our first game against them this season when we tied 0-0 with about 60 shots on net.

We want that game back and I am confident we will finish them off with a championship result.

Let's all stay focussed on finishing the job.

See you all on Tuesday and we prepare to finish off Oakville for the 3rd and final time.

This game was a distinct change from our Mt. Hamilton contest earlier in the week.

At half-time we held a slim 1-0 lead with Oakville gaining a few key opportunities to keep the contest close.

We did a good job in keeping them away from our net with only 7 shots allowed in the first half and two in the second (1 got by us).
We delivered 28 shots at their net overall and converted, yet again, another corner kick (a work in progress). We need to improve our scoring opportunities here. We had 11 corners in the game.....

From time to time we got out of focus in the midfield, leaving far too much space for Oakville to work with. Our player marking did not shift when they pressed up another player. This is where good player communication is essential while the play is going on. Each player must be looking for changes in your opponent's set up.

Again overall a quality performance from everyone.

Every player must come into each game with a clear expectation to "make a difference" and not just put time in. We all accomplished that today and everyone went home satisfied that they had earned the result with determination and hard work.

Thanks again to Danielle from the 14B, Amanda, Tiffany, Daniella and Maggie from the 13A to whom continue to earn our gratitude in helping to make our season a success.

POST GAME REPORT AUG 18 VS MT. HAMILTON
A quality 8-0 result on our home field and other 3 points.

This was our third and final league game against Mt. Hamilton this season. Their team results have always left me wondering what is wrong with their "magic".
From our very first outing where we captured a 1-0 squeaker, we have had a lot of respect for Mt. Hamilton. In the end we outscored them 15-1 over the 3 games and other teams in the division chewed on them as well.

One of the Mt. Hamilton parents left a kind note for us in our guestbook. I encourage all to click on their website in our guestbook and leave a respectful note behind as well. They were a quality opponent.

I left them some tips on how to manage Georgetown in their League Cup semi on the 22nd. Georgetown doesn't deserve to win this championship after their verbal garbage from the player bench when we were there last.

Overall, an excellent performance from everyone.

Special thanks again to Danielle from the 14B, Maggie, Molly, Daniella, Amanda and Ashlie from the 13A who were key to our strong performance in this game.

One step closer to our goal....

POST GAME REPORT AUG 9 GEORGETOWN
Our Eagles went into Georgetown with something to prove and came away with a solid 5-0 victory and another 3 points.

We would not have accomplished this without the support from our sister teams.
Many thanks to Danielle from the 14B, Molly and Maggie from the 13A, Alex from the 13B, and Lauren from our Select team. Every one contributed a huge difference on the field.

We went in determined to be "first to the ball" with lots of pressure on the opposition every time they touched the ball.

The determination of everyone made it happen.

A reminder to all that I will continue to push everyone hard until the last whistle blows - regardless of the score.

The ball was in our end for only 18 minutes of the 80 minutes played.

We FINALLY converted two corner kicks into the net....a significant milestone considering we have "wasted" the last 30......

We got another lesson on the effect of "out of town" referees. Monday's game included some pretty creative calls including the bizarre "pass back" to our keeper that a Georgetown player passed to Kristina (Stephanie jumped over the ball when the keeper called for it). We faced a free kick from ten yards out.

We answer to referees like this with high performance and more goals in the net than the other team. Remember, a whistle is just a whistle - and a free kick - no big deal. Players must prepare for their defensive positions right away rather than get emotional about a call.

Our Eagles need to maintain a class act on the field and from the sidelines. We will make our statement with decisive victories in every game.
We cannot let officials, opponents or spectators throw us off our game.

The Georgetown player attitude got pretty bad during the game on their bench...and boasted openly that the League Cup was theirs.......amongst other chatter.

Some Eagles still have a bad habit of putting their hand up for the referee when they think the ball has gone out of bounds in their favour.

Please stop putting up your hands....just go and get the ball and throw it in.

The official will stop you if they think it goes the other way....things can wrong with your hand in the air and you looking at the ref instead of the ball.

Sometimes the ref waits for the players to determine who has the throw and it usually goes to who confidently gets the ball and gets on with business
If both teams put their hands up.....the ref has to guess......

Nine games to go.......our focus and resolve must remain strong. Burlington is our next critical challenge and when we play them, everyone must be ready with all we have.

Thanks again to everyone for creating and maintaining our team's results this season.

GAME REPORT NIAGARA JULY 29
Eagles,

Absolutely the finest soccer pitch that we have played on this year.

Definitely the best ref we have seen from some time. We all appreciated his humour and his ability to officiate a fair and fun game for all.

A quality 5-0 result and another 3 points toward your goal and full control of first place.

Niagara Falls, like Mississauga, also came out against us a lot smarter than our first 9-1 session.

This is a good reminder to all that many things can change in a team from game to game and nothing will ever come easy.

A Niagara parent let slip that they had called up a bunch of their U13 Elite players to toughen up their roster.
Their presence was immediately evident providing a lot of speed on their defensive line and reducing our scoring opportunities to only 30+.

I lost count of the balls we let the keeper pick up easily. Once again we are doing lots of hard work on the field, but wasting all of the effort on the last 3 seconds.
We all must stay focussed on the task until the ball is buried in the net.

Our corner kick opportunities were reduced to 7 and again no conversions. Gotta get focussed on this. I think we need a specialist to help us with our corners.

Thanks to Lauren from Select, Danielle, Amanda and Kim from 14B and Ashley from the 13A whose solid contributions supported our result.

GAME REPORT MISSISSAUGA JULY 26
As I anticipated, Mississauga came up against us a bit wiser (although not that much wiser) from our first game.
We let two goals go by in situations that shouldn't have happened - but mistakes happen.

Fortunately we put 6 goals past the Falcons and earned the all-important 3 points in our march to the division title. Score 6-2
A few observations we need to focus on from this game:

Even though we generated 50+ scoring opportunities only 6 went in the net. Our shooters lost sight of their fundamentals again by missing the target and continuing to drive the ball into the keeper's hands and belly button.
We need to continue to practice our shot placement under pressure.

Our simple game plan generates a lot of deep offensive throw ins, goal kicks and corner kicks. We created 14 corner kicks in this game and converted none of them.
This will have to be another focussed area in our practice sessions.
There is no reason why we shouldn't be converting 30% of these set plays.

Our midfield and backfield continue to manage the middle area of the field well. This continued strength and pressure is the key to our game.
I would still like to see faster ball movement down into the corners. Our centre mids end up working harder than they need to when they keep the ball too long in a small space.

We are rolling far too many through balls in the hands of the goalie. Every one got stuffed back down our throat by long deep kicks back into our end of the field.
Think of the running and bumping you will save yourselves by keeping that ball away from the goalie.

Many thanks to Molly, Melanie from the 13A, Danielle from 14B, and Lauren from the Select team who all contributed the difference on the field to anchor our victory.

The Falcons think that they have improved enough that they will catch a tie when we meet again - good luck !!!

Remember - our team business including our detailed stats, who is away, who is broken, who is playing with us in any game, etc. is SECRET to our team.
Never discuss team issues or get tricked into sharing info in email or other chatter. What may seem like an innocent inquiry could give our opponents an advantage to plan in advance of a game.

Keep up the good work and stay focussed on your individual strong contribution to our championship goal.

GAME REPORT JULY 21 VS NIAGARA
A quality result - 3 more points.

56 recorded Eagle shots on net - 9 goals for, 1 goal against.

Our march towards a division championship continues.

Many thanks to Molly, Kate and Tiffany from our U13A team who provided solid skills on the field to make it happen.

Thanks to all who kept their cool and remained humble in the face of their opponent getting hammered.

Some observations......

We got a bit greedy with 7 or 8 players at a time constantly crowding the Niagara net and each trying to do it as a solo effort.
I understand the temptation, but we must stay focussed on good soccer, looking for the player who is in the best position to finish the job.
The wall we created in front of the net only served to help Niagara.......

A high percentage of our shots were soft deliveries into the belly of the Niagara keeper.

Forwards need to be looking back to the midfield and find someone open when they get turned.

We got caught again making a 10 foot pass back from the mid to the last player. The result was a cut off pass and 1 v 1 with our goalie.
We did this in Cambridge in the Supernova final as well.

No more passbacks to the last player please unless their is PLENTY of space for the defender to control and clear.

This situation may have been prevented if a second Eagle had come to help the midfield close the ball down. Additionally, players who see the ball coming at them with an Eagle need to get out to space for quality support.

Weak teams like Niagara can drag us into bad habits and bad soccer if we don't stay focussed on on OUR game. We must stay on our "A" game from the first to the last whistle.

At one point, late in the game, Niagara was launching a goal kick and two Eagles were having a gigglefest in the middle of the field with their back to the ball.

We won the game - 3 more points.

We have a long way to go and every game must be considered a tough challenge to reach your goal as division champs.

When we play Niagara again on the 29th (our rescheduled game) expect them to be a little bit smarter, and determined not to be embarrassed again.

Mississauga will be same on Monday.

Keep it up....stay focussed and stay in control of your destiny.

JULY 14 VS MT. HAMILTON
To all 1990 Eagles and our 1991 Eagles

This evening I drove from Edmonton to Calgary and I spent most of my time in the car playing the game with you in my mind.

When I got the call (I wasn't impatient or anxious at all) I was absolutely overwhelmed.

I had had a particularly tough day with business clients (no golf) and all the tough part of the day was washed away in a few short moments.

I am so very proud of this team called the Eagles.

I am especially grateful to our sister Eagles who have given their time and energy to our team as we recover the respect in our league so well deserved.

We are, together, living examples of what teamwork within the Club can accompish to achieve our Club goals of excellence and dominance.

I have been filled in with all of the game details and everyone's gutsy performance against a well recognized, tough team.

Special thanks to Coach Steve and Coach Lyndsay who carried the coaching task today.

Perhaps the most emotional news was Sarah Rahman's two goal performance in her last formal game as an Eagle.

Sarah has faithfully anchored the back line for the past two years and has never once complained about her role on the team.

Clearly, Sarah would have been preferred to be up on the front lines or midfield where she could apply her speed and skills in the offence.

I can think of no better gift for us to provide to Sarah, nor for Sarah to give to her team in her parting performance.

Sarah, we all wish you and your family the very best in your future. We will count on you to keep in touch with your Eagle family for many years to come.

As a closing note, and a final gesture for your loyalty and commitment over the past 5 years we are going to retire your two shirt numbers from our team.

Only Sarah Rahman will ever wear #13 and #17 for the Erin Mills Eagles 1990 A team.

Keep you uniform clean and pressed and perhaps we will have an opportunity to see you on the field with us once again before our season closes.

Congratulations to everyone again.

No one is stopping this team now......

COACH BOB T

JULY 12 VS OAKVILLE
The net result was 6-3 in our favour and three more points toward our goal of first in our league. A reminder to all that this is the bottom line goal and we will do whatever is necessary to accomplish that goal.

Although a win, we demonstrated some clear weakness in our defensive coverage allowing three unnecessary goal against.

Twice in the game we only ahead by one goal.

Also troublesome was the mood of the team leading up to the kick-off. On numerous occasions the core players had to be reminded to get focussed and get into "battle-ready" mindset. Warm-up routines were undisciplined and embarrassing to watch.

The game begins well before the whistle blows and your competitors are watching you just as much as you are watching them in warm-up.

Your opponent has to see a well-oiled, well-organized, well-disciplined Eagle team. Anything less shows weakness in our camp and lends strength to the other bench.

Our laid back warm-up mind set went right into the game and didn't correct itself fully until the last 15 minutes of the game.

We have a real opportunity to reach our goal this year and only total focus will get us there.

I am sure that everyone wants to be number one - but this requires self-discipline, strong leadership from all team mates and sacrifice.

This will not come free.

JULY 11 - LEAGUE CUP VS GEORGETOWN
Bottom line - a 2-1 loss to Georgetown.

This game was handicapped from the beginning with injuries and absence. Furthermore we were not allowed to use our usual call-ups from the other Rep teams due to SRSL rules limitations in Cup play.

We fulfilled our roster with 6 players from our Select (All-Star) who exceeded all expectations in their roles.

We led 1-0 up to 10 minutes remaining when our supporting cast ran out of gas. Our best Select performer suffered an ankle injury right about then as well.

Your coach should have recognized the fitness breakdown coming and put a sweep on to protect our one goal lead. Instead we suffered a tying goal, then pressed ahead to score a winner - and we got bit.

Our core players were reminded that movement changes on the field have to executed immediately and without question when instructed by the Coach.
I see things happening on the field that may not be evident to you at the time. Do what is asked of you and we will discuss it later.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

The ref provided us with a full 5 minutes of injury time and many opportunities to tie were presented - but alas.

I went into this game expecting to see a much different Georgetown team than we got. I am confident that we will deal with Georgetown effectively when we meet in our 3 league games ahead (two are the last two games in the season). This will only happen if we bring our top game to the field and play as the focussed champions that we know how to be.

In the end, our Cup game loss was disappointing, but exceeded expectations considering our resource issues.

As Josef keeps reminding me - stay focussed on the League division championship, earn our respect back, and attract added quality talent to the team next year.

JULY 9 VS MISSISSAUGA
A solid 7-0 spanking against a coach that was sure he had us all figured out.

Our 14B additions of Alyssa, Danielle and Jessica, plus Molly Streeter from the 13A team provided a team so overwhelming we actually silenced the Mississauga coach.

2004 CAMBRIDGE TOURNAMENT

CAMBRIDGE 2004 FINALISTS

We had a solid, successful weekend with four shutout wins and a trip to the Championship game.

Somehow the gods arranged for London Supernova to follow us into this tournament.
Supernova have certainly established themselves as our benchmark goal.

We all saw the Supernova we defeated on Saturday regroup and come back to decisively earn their championship victory.

In a nutshell, Supernova learned from their mistakes, got stronger and we went softer. The result was logical.

Excuses don't win us anything, but the reality is that injury after injury had a lot to do with our performance slide on Sunday.

We added to our own dilemma with some emotional control problems after the first goal went past us.

I saw the devastation set in and the game plan started the tailspin. We were actually on our game in the first 5 minutes or so until Supernova scored.

Part of our game plan involved an Eagle pulling the ball out of the net (either one) after a goal and running the ball back to the centre spot. I saw this happen ONCE on Saturday and NEVER on Sunday. This simple act of defiance sends a clear message to your opponent (and most importantly to yourself) that you have no intention of giving up!

We must all get focussed on looking after each other on the field. I am counting on lots more LOUD and VOCAL moral support for your team mates ALL OF THE TIME.

We will have a discussion on Tuesday about what needs to change the next time we are faced with similar circumstances.

Once again, we had a great weekend and all should be proud of your performance overall. You did, after all, cause a stir when you broke the Supernova "undefeated" season bubble on Saturday.

However, let's all be sure that we don't ever think that "runner-up" is good enough. Winning is always our goal.

OSHAWA 2003
The weekend result was somewhat less than what we expected.

Trying to reflect on what worked and what didn't is easier said than done.

This was our first competitive venture on the grass and it was intended to show us where our strengths and weaknesses exist.

We got shown....

This teams has never played well when their teammates were absent, sick and injured.
We ran on Saturday with 2 active spares.

Our opening North Miss game started well with the Eagles delivering a decent and competitive game to the Panthers. A soft goal against seemed to change the momentum of the game and the second half became al North Miss as we held on to minimize the damage at 0-2.
The Eagles logged ZERO shots on the Mississauga net.

The second game against the Kicks (and arguably the 1st or second best team in the province) delivered a clinic on ball control and a 0-6 result to the Eagles.
The Eagles logged ONE shot on net in this game.

This is the standard of soccer that we must all aspire to. Oshawa players represent the role model for all of us to follow.

The Oshawa coach told me after the game that they won probably because they had been running and training all winter. It obviously showed that our lack of desire in this game appeared as conditioning problems.

Each of these tournament games represents about one half of a regular league game. Every player should be conditioned and mentally prepared to play at least half of a game without a break if they are needed to do so.

This is the year of get physical. We cannot continue to play scared in 1 v 1 situations or where a header or body on the ball is necessary.
Our season will be decided on this issue alone and how our midfield is controlled.
Shy players will play second fiddle.

The Sunday game provided a more positive result with a 3-1 win against a very soft Darlington team.
We let the ball in our zone ONCE. The defensive system completely collapsed and Darlington squad carried a ball from inside their own end all the way into the top of our net.

The Eagles delivered only SIX shots on net in this game and a total of SEVEN shots for the entire weekend.

We did some player shuffling to experiment with some different lineups. We will continue to fiddle over the next weekend.

Let's plan and hope for health and injury recovery prior to the start of our all-important League game schedule approaching rapidly.

Practice this week is Tuesday and Thursday at KIng's Masting from 6:30-8 pm.
If raining, default is Coach Bob's house for a team meeting.

BT

EAGLES WIN FIRST ROUND OF LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
The Eagles tonight stepped up their game once more to take down a Vaughan team that had no plan of losing. With some sad examples of poor sportsmanship from their bench and on the field the Vaughan team showed a clear example why real TEAMS beat bunches of goons like this.

Regardless, we hurt them where it counts - on the scoreboard.

We all worked a lot harder than we had to tonight by giving up too much space to the other guys. We also gave up far too many 50-50 balls.

Our first goal came from Dani's hard work in the corner to get the ball to Krista. Denise scored from near centre half using the "get it on the net" rule with a bullet shot that blew past.
Our goal against came from a sleepy midfield who gave up too much space to a speedy midfielder.

As I have said before, there will be no more free games this season.

Onwards and upwards to the semi-final against Markham who took out North Miss in penalty kicks.

I fully expect to see the Eagles in the final of the League Championship as well as the League Cup tomorrow.

Let's get the job done on Monday first.

BT

EAGLES WIN NYHL CUP SEMI-FINAL WITH CLASS
To our 1990 Eagles,

The highlights of the League Cup semi-final...

Since we began this indoor "practice" the team confidence has soared. The Eagles actually KNOW that they can win when they WANT to bad enough.

Each game through this League Cup has been increasingly tougher - as expected in any playoff format that allows the best teams of the day to rise to the top.

Our Eagles know that there will be no more "free" games for the remainder of this season. This is what their "Elite" status is all about.

The Ajax Extreme came out to play with a tough, aggressive style not unlike most other teams in the Central League. This is the reality of our soccer environment and reminds us all that soccer is a beautiful game, although not necessarily a gentle one.

Our Eagles prepared well for the challenge.

We had far more scoring opportunities in our favour throughout the game. We scored more goals than the game sheet read thanks to a Chloe header overlooked by the Ref.

The game was decided on the basic premise of scoring - THE BALL MUST BE SHOT AT THE NET. If we accomplish this, anything can happen.

The first Ajax goal came after a textbook trick set play that collapsed our defensive wall. The ball was at the net but too much for Cayla to handle with the surprise of a vanishing wall.

We tied the game from an innocent kick in from the sidelines. Amanda's soaring shot was mishandled high by the keeper and went in. The ball was on the net.

Ajax went ahead again on a short pass corner kick play that fooled our marking defender. The ball was on the net.

We tied the game after another side line kick in ON THE NET was blocked by an Ajax hand above everyone's heads.
A penalty shot resulted and Niki finished the job. The ball was on the net.

The tied game was decided on penalty shots. We had to make sure that we had our best shooting feet on the field when the whistle blew so some last minute changes were made to accommodate that.

Our shot making skill and confidence shone through with 4-1 shoot out victory.

A very special "hats off" to Cayla who led this game from start to finish with Class A goalkeeping - the kind of goal keeping that every championship team needs in their favour.

Championship game is Saturday 11:15 am at the Hangar.

Let's see if we can get the whole 16 out to watch the indoor 11 take on the #2 team in Ontario. We know we can give them a game to remember.

EVERY COACH DREAMS OF A REAL TEAM LIKE OURS.

IT IS OUR SECRET.

PROTECT IT LIKE GOLD.

BT

EAGLES HOLD BACK THE COSMOS
The Eagles continued their indoor advance with another solid performance against the North York Cosmos.

Once again we were challenged with difficulties in our field assignments but we managed to log another close 1-0 win.

Our Eagles had many many chances against a quality Cosmos keeper who repeatedly stopped us cold.

The sole goal of the game was a textbook charge from the midfield from a corner delivery.

I would like to see us using players in motion more often to improve our effectiveness in scoring. As much as we are winning games, we must look at ways to log more numbers on the scoreboard.

Heading balls away from our net must become common place.

We are facing more and more tough teams who try hard to physically push us off the ball. We must always be ready for challenging 1 v 1 play and learn to push back.

We must remember to recognize and manage the changes in the shape of the opponent's team. Players must begin to notice everyone on the field.

Strategies change during a game.

When we are down a goal and the clock is dying, we need lots of offence and little defense. We take chances.

When the team is up a goal and the clock is dying we need lots of defence and little offense. We take NO chances.

PLayers are expected to develop these instincts without waiting for instruction from the bench.

I am very proud of our results this winter.

We must remember that we are using these indoor experiences to improve the little things as we prepare for the real game outside.

We must continually improve to succeed. If we stay the way we are, everyone else will pass us by.

Hard work is the only talent that each player needs to promise to their team.

BT

Saturday, March 22EAGLES SOAR OVER THE PICKERING FALCONS
Our first League Cup game in the Hangar.
The gang came out to play wearing their Elite attitude high.
The Pickering squad provided some of the toughest competition we have seen this winter.
Our Eagles were solid in their play and delivered everything they had. It was great to see the very obvious change in the confidence we attacked the ball.

I saw more headers in this game than I have seen all winter.

Both teams were very dependent on their defensive teams while attacking players were frustrated over and over.
We were a bit more dependent on our keeper than I would have preferred.
Fortunately we were able to capitalize on the one mistake that would decide the game.
We were a bit slow in reading the Pickering field shape and coverage assignments were sloppy in the first quarter. Eagles need to be looking for different strategies by their opponents and adjust accordingly.
We were a bit too quick to lose the ball in our 1 v 1 opportunities. The midfield didn't recognize how often the strike team was sitting wide open looking for a feed.
This Pickering team represents the caliber we will face for the entire summer season, so the time was not wasted.

Well done Eagles....get ready for the next one.

EAGLES AT OSA MARCH BREAK TOURNAMENT
Well we certainly let this one get away.

We opened our first game against Ajax and missed every opportunity (and there were many) to put the ball in the net.
The resulting 0-0 tie put us in catch-up mode.

The second game against Woodbridge was a repeat of the first but turned fast after the blue team tied up the game after a "triple duck" on a through ball.

We settled for another tie and advancement to the final was waning.

This game was certainly dubbed as the worst of the week as we collapsed under pressure from our opponent and went scatter brained.

Other ties around the tournament kept us in the running.

Our third game needed at least a tie and preferably a win to reach the final.

The Eagles opened the scoring with a well-earned penalty shot from Chloe.
We again missed many quality scoring opportunities throughout the game, then fell behind with three unanswered York United goals, the last with only 10 seconds to go. All came from uncharacteristic defensive errors.

We broke "style" in this game and loaded the field with the best talent of the day for the last five minutes.

We were eliminated from the final by a slim margin goal differential.

To make it worse, Ajax HAMMERED York United 3-0 in the final.

Indeed we let this one get away. We should have and could have been there.

These short game tournaments count on goal production and we just couldn't deliver when we needed them today.

Another day.

We had some discussion today about emotional management on the field. We just have to learn to cope with our mistakes and shake them off.
There was more than one player today who limited their contribution to the team today with uncontrolled emotional distractions.
Management of our emotions is an essential part of growing up. You must all look to each other for support, but the biggest control must come from inside each one of our players.

Mistakes happen. Deal with it and move on.

In most games, the one who wins is the team who makes the fewest mistakes.

We discussed the continuing reality that our players are ducking on the ball. Players who continue to be ineffective in ball control with their body and headers will suffer playing time and gain remedial sessions in practice.

Elite play requires a full set of skills including no fear of the ball.

All in all - we had a good week.

COACH BOB

MARCH BREAK HANGAR 2003
Well there you have it. We have Champions in our midst, and proud we are.

After a long hard day that lasted almost 12 hours for most, our Eagles brought home a long overdue event win.

We are definitely seeing a big change in attitude throughout the team. This is the attitude that we must continue to build in preparation for a very challenging summer in the South Region Soccer League Elite Division.

A few notes about the day.....

Fear of the ball - ducking airborne balls is a weakness, and often embarrassing for our players playing against teams who have long overcome their fear.

We will continue to deal with this at practice.

We need to learn to relax while going about our business on the field . We often get so wound up in our emotions we burn up wasted energy, tiring easily.

If anyone has any relaxation techniques or resources I am all ears.

We need to better recognize and react to changes on the field. Many still only worry about their own little world and fail to see the big picture on the field.

Nutrition management during these long days appears to be poor. We seem to have many players going into battle with no between game snacks and little water intake.
We will work more on the science of sports nutrition through the year, but in the meantime please pack quick snacks like cheese and crackers, raw vegetables, fruit, along with lots of water.
This will become increasingly important as we move outside.

I am beginning to hear player to player criticism on the field in some corners.
Let's stop it now and keep all on field talk positive.

Bring on Thursday and the OSA Centre.

BT

FEB 22 GAME VS YORK UNITED
We did a great job stepping up to the ball today and won better than 85% of all 50-50 situations.

York scored first when we let them sneak in close to our net uncontested. We must be tough, no-nonsense and decisive in clearing tha ball from our own end.

Our first touch ball control was lacking overall largely due to no practice on the ball for a week.

Our attack on net continues to be less effective than it could be. We appear to have far too many people trying to score $25 headers. Effective immediately the $25 header bonus is cancelled. Let's all get focussed on scoring goals in the MOST EFFECTIVE way.

We took the three points. An Elite team is shining through.

BOB T

EAGLES VS EAST YORK JAN 4/03
Our Eagles illustrated today the need for some team training in mental preparation for games. I will be looking for a professional in this area and we will have some team sessions on the topic.
All teams are entitled to a "bad" game from time to time. This game was certainly one of them.
Top teams and top athletes in any sport must still be able to deliver a winning effort even when their overall performance is less than perfect.
Top teams must accept the fact that sometimes the other team scores first and it is not the end of the world.
Top athletes learn what habits work best for them to deliver their best game, how much sleep, what kind of food, what to drink, what particular ritual is "lucky".
Top athletes are self-driven and know how to pull up their own socks when the chips are down.
Top athletes stay focussed on their team mates and encourage them to play their best.
In a nutshell, our Eagles have to get off this emotional roller coaster ride and learn to deliver a consistent, disciplined team effort.
Emotions are a powerful force. We will learn how to harness them to make us better players and better individuals overall.

Start now.....

BT

EAGLES DRAW WITH OSHAWA

It is not often that I will focus on the results of a single game because it usually requires several games to get the total picture.

We went into this game with a confident expectation of winning. The last times we have met Oshawa we have given them a game even though the result went their way.

We got to see the soccer skills that these Eagles have trained so hard to put on the stage.

We saw all kinds of true character that makes teams successful beyond the skills of kicking a ball. We had players playing in clear discomfort because of illness and injury . These girls dug down deep to support their team and inspired others to follow the lead.

The GU11 coach was on hand doing a critical assessment of our team in action (a new Club Head Coach initiative).

He had wonderful things to say about our team. He was absolutely impressed that we very nearly won the game against one of the best teams in the province, and certainly the best team in this NYHL league.

He picked up on a couple of our weak areas. Firstly, communication. We missed on some good scoring opportunities because the player with the ball wasn't aware of any support. I also explained that our most vocal players could barely talk because of sore throats.

He suggested that we could do a bit better job supporting each other behind the ball.

He focussed on our high intensity players in this game and suggested that we would be absolutely unbeatable if the entire team played with that same intensity all of the time.

Our superior conditioning was noticed in the second half. We appeared to be holding back in the first half.

Even the best of teams have areas of improvement.

Our Eagles have made it clear that they have the skills and desire to play against the best.

Their skills and the character have arrived together.

BOB T

EAGLES DOMINATE EL SALVADOR
The Eagles controlled the game but continued their style of poor attack penetration.
A strong keeper dealt with all of our mosquito bites, except one.
We finally got the message to distract their goalie which ultimately created the one and only goal of the game.
We suffered some unusual injuries in the game along with an unnecessary dose of poor sportsmanship by the El Salvador keeper who took out Chloe after the goal. Unfortunately the game official had his back to the play, but dealt with the matter unofficially.

We will meet them again.

Next week will bring a tougher challenge to the Eagles.

CLOSING OUT THE SEASON IN STYLE
Well there it is. The 2002 season is over.

The Eagles came out to play and finally delivered the offensive pasting we have been waiting for all season.

With 7 goals the team jumped their all-season scoring total by one third to 27.
Quite a change when we got used to 1 or 2 goal games at best.
The gang backed off the Burlington net when asked to. We didn't want to look too greedy so they just played out the last ten minutes.
With this win we secure fourth place overall in front of Saltfleet.

Terrific game Eagles.

That was your last official soccer activity on a number 4 size ball. You are in the big leagues now!!

ole

EAGLE CUP REVIEW
Our opening game brought out a completely flat flock of Eagles as they bowed out 2-4 against a North Mississauga team who had gotten out of bed and come to play.
Four ridiculous defensive lapses stung our net and we continued to miss opportunity after opportunity at the other end.

The second game against Waterloo introduced a flurry of Eagle injuries and illness that put a lot of stress on the healthy. Fortunately we were able to win the battle against Waterloo and finally logged a 1-0 win. Unfortunately it turned out to be a meaningless win. We gained no league points and failed to advance in the Eagle Cup.

In the third game, still suffering from injuries and illness, the Eagles needed a 4-0 win to advance to the semi-finals.
We could only log a 1-0 win in spite of many, many chances to move ahead comfortably.
The Eagles ran out of gas in the final game and settled for a marginal win and a trip to the sidelines where they watched Waterloo and North Miss. play out a 6-0 pasting by Waterloo over the Panthers.
Waterloo gained first place, and the Panthers earned second based on their goal differential.

Tomorrow they will kick-off against Mississauga and London for the final qualifier.

Hopefully all will arrive to play and play hard. This game decides 4th or 5th place.

BOB T

DIXIE SEP 4
The season against Dixie is over - enough said.

Dixie 18
Eagles 1

THE 2002 OAKVILLE OSCAR

Somehow it doesn't seem fair that we went home early after three great games.
Our opening game against Richmond Hill was our classic frustration of total domination and a scoring nightmare. This team is actually ranked ahead of us in the Terra ranking which further suggests the data is "less than correct".
We finally started to find the net in the second half and finished with a 3-0 win.

The afternoon game set us up against a team from Rochester, Michigan. Their undisciplined position play gave us some trouble with our style and ball control.
With some sense of urgency finally arriving in the closing minutes of the game the Eagles finally put one past with a minute to go for a 1-0 win.

Our third preliminary game set us against Ajax Warriors, the Central League leaders and #2 in the Terra Ranking.
The game opened with the Eagles in their face, first to the ball and in control.
The Ajax squad eventually settled down and turned the tables.
Our Eagles played some of their best, aggressive soccer of the season throughout this game and kept Ajax off the board.
We created a few opportunities
that failed to capitalize.
The game settled on a 0-0 draw but Ajax advanced on the strength of their goal differential in the other games.
This is the level we aspire to play at and this game illustrated that we are well on our way.

Three games - 4 goals for - 0 goals against.
Great defense but we still need more offence and most of all, finishing on scoring chances.

Overall we played a great weekend of soccer.
A good warm-up for Wednesday's battle (and it will be a battle) at Mississauga Valleys.

POST GAME REVIEW - GEORGETOWN AUG 28
Certainly our ugliest win this year ,but a win all the same and we take home the critical three points to tie with Saltfleet in the standing.

The first half was played by some other team in our shirts.

The Eagles couldn't relax, couldn't focus, and spent 35 minutes chasing red shirts around.
Every ball we touched (or even thought about touching) was lost to a red shirt.

Our midfield management was weak at best and silly defensive mental errors nearly cost us in our own end on a few occasions.

The coach's voice was glad to see the end of the first half. (I will suffer for days from the strain).

The second half began with the Eagles finally playing soccer.
They were stringing passes together and getting penetration.

One sleepy moment swung the play to our end and our lack of urgency to attack the shooter gave Georgetown a free shot and they scored. We MUST improve this!!!!!!

We gained a number of free kicks near the opposing net. Then we had that silly moment when we played an indirect kick set up on a direct kick and Georgetown walked up and took the ball away while we watched. A very embarrassing moment for everyone.
Like a broken record.....two touch when the ref has his arm up - one touch if not. We MUST talk to each other and help each other focus on these details.
We almost blew it a second time with the same play on Mallory's sweet chip over the keeper's head for the tying goal.
Our winning score was created by Chloe's midfield ball control who punched the ball through the defensive line for Rachel's run.

The remainder of the game was focussed Eagle control when they decided to attack the ball and take charge of the game to the end.

We still have a lot of work to do to end this season in controlling style.

Third place is still very possible but we must play every game from the kick off like we did in the second half today.

We must know that we can win from the start and stop this waiting until we score before we get ambitious.

Players who can control the ball, create space and manage their game will get bonus playing time.

OSHAWA IN REVIEW

Clearly, our girls need to be congratulated for winning their finalist trophies in a tournament that was intended to be our introduction to full field play with our 2002 team.

Although I was confident in the individual capabilities of our players, their outdoor performance as a team was untested before this weekend.

The weekend result came from good teamwork and a great spirit and desire to win.

The entire team contributed to the successes and, unlike previous years, we were not building our hopes on one or two players.

I will post detailed game results and pictures on the website in the next day or so.

Conditioning played a very big factor. It was clear that our Eagles' conditioning is much better than Dixie's at this stage of the season. The Saints started to fade in the last part of the first half and they had played one less game on Sunday than we had.
Conditioning shone in all of our games.

We will stay focussed on our conditioning as an obvious key advantage.

This weekend was also intended to give us a good look at player roles and the best use of each individual's strengths. We fiddled around a bit with positioning and we'll do the same next weekend at West Niagara.

Sideline ball movement and midfield control will continue to be the focus. Almost all of our quality penetration was achieved from sideline passes to the "jail" corners.

A few additional points for future reference:

Player management between games.

This weekend was unusual for the time delays between games. I'm sure the long lag on Saturday affected our play against Dixie the first time. In future I expect our players to use the time to regenerate, eat, hydrate and most importantly, rest or nap out of the sun.

Bladder Management

If you gotta go, you gotta go! But please not 15 minutes before game time.
This weekend was a test without washroom facilities at hand. Our hosts had facilities placed at the originally intended field, but couldn't get them moved.

Moms and Dads please help to manage your player by making sure washroom and any other personal needs are attended to to avoid last minute difficulties.

Bladder management does not mean stop drinking water when active.

Sun Management

A few of us did not deal with sunscreen needs (nor thought about it). Standard issue in all bags please (store in a separate plastic bag). If the sun is out, the sun screen goes on. Consider waterproof sunscreen.
All players are urged to wear a hat when off the field. This can help reduce a lot of the headaches we saw today.

Fair Play, Sportsmanship and Language on the field.

This team , players, parents and coaches, will ALWAYS be expected to follow our basic rules of fair play (see handouts in your player binder).
No one on this team will ever be encouraged to badmouth, cheat or injure another player.

Close player checking and my encouragement to "not be polite" should never be misunderstood as an excuse to be rude or attempt to injure. This politeness reference is purely to remind the players to tackle hard within the rules of the game.

I had a big (silent) problem last year with language and disrespect among team mates.
One of our players was overheard on Sunday using totally unacceptable language in the game and, even worse, making rude commentary about the Dixie Saints at the trophy presentations.
I was asked afterwards by a spectator if there was a team policy about "language" and "sportsmanship". I was embarrassed for the team that I even had to address the matter with someone outside of our team.

I know that some Dixie players were tossing around some verbal abuse during play.
That dos not lend license for us to do the same. Offenders will find themselves benched for a while or even playing somewhere else if it persists.

Dixie is going to be our primary antagonist in a long season. I expect this to be a FRIENDLY rivalry as the season passes. I expect that we will share some wins and share some losses.
Competitors are expected to be treated with respect just the same as you would expect to be treated.
If someone on another team (or ours) violates that respect you are to let me know and I will deal with it.

I WILL NOT TOLERATE ANYONE OR ANY CIRCUMSTANCE THAT EMBARRASSES THE TEAM OR OUR CLUB NAME.

Let this be the last time I have to deal with this. It will be reviewed at practice this week with the players.

Criticism of Players

Parents are welcome to criticize their own players on the field - and preferably focus most of that into praise. Please do not tell your player which blade of grass to stand on. They have to figure this out for themselves with guidance from the bench.

Please refrain from offering public criticism of any other players on the team. When mistakes are made the first one who knows it is the player. The next to know it are the parents watching. No one needs to be reminded of bad moments whether parents or players.

Remember, everyone is doing the very best they can and sometimes results are less than perfect. Keep negative comments about other players to yourself. Thrive on the positive moments and bury the bad.

It is my job to work with the players to help them recognize how situations develop so they can avoid the same happening again. We work hard to avoid finger pointing and choose to review the series of actions that led to a mistake.

Have fun as coaches, as parents and as players.

Everything I do, everything that the coaching staff does, everything that the parents do, is for our players - no one else - so spoil them rotten with praise, forget the mistakes and most importantly HAVE FUN and create fun around you.

If someone forgets the rules please remind them - and expect to be reminded in a friendly way if happens to be you in a weak moment.

A final note on laundering uniforms

For best results wash all game shirts and shorts in warm/cold water - no bleach
and hang to dry. Socks white wash and dry as you like.

The summer season has begun.

Having fun.......

BOB T

WEST NIAGARA REVIEW AND PRACTICE

We accomplished what we set out to do in this tournament - get some playing experience under our belt and see how we play together.
The whole weekend focus was to push the play from the centre of the field to the sides. As everyone knows, especially the players, we need to improve the execution of our ball movement that still lives in the middle most of the time.

Our opening game against Kitchener posted a respectable 2-3 result. We penetrated and scored from sideline play. Kitchener is a skilled team with good foot skills and field position.

The second game against Sarnia gave us a chance to work on our ball movement and we were successful with a 4-1 win.

We earned a Saturday extra game with our second place division placing and a favourable tournament draw.
Our third game against the Welland Wizards was more of a contest than the Eagles had counted on. The Wizards did not give in easily on the fairgrounds pasture.
The Eagles lost most of their energy with another long wait between games.
(We are going to have to join a local spa in future to regenerate)

The Eagles mustered a 3-1 win over a team that should have suffered more.

The win earned us a quarterfinal match on Sunday morning against the Oakville A squad. A combination of rain, cold, Oakville skills, Eagles panic and no drive to the ball sent us home with a 0-4 loss and not one shot on net.
One of those games to forget.

We gained some experience, especially understanding what it will take to compete with the best.

The Eagles have some mental discipline hurdles to jump so that they can take and keep control of the skills they have under strong pressure.
I hope that we learned how not to play under lousy weather conditions.

SPACE AND TIME, SPACE AND TIME, SPACE AND TIME, SPACE AND TIME

I am not coaching a kick and run team, but we are doing too much of that. We must hold the ball and create some space so we have some time to move the ball on our terms.

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE

I'm sure that there a few suggestions from parents and players about dealing with inclement weather like today. We all came home thinking "I wish I had thought of this or that". Send me your ideas and I will bundle them all up into a check list for future use by all.

Considering that the playing experience was more important to us than the trophy, I think our result was favourable for all. Those seeking trophies suffered.......

Lyndsay played out the final today (three matches in that rain and cold).
Their semi was a shoot out win (after 20 min overtime) and the finals was a shoot out loss (after 20 min overtime. Their white uniforms are no longer white and may never be again. They were home at 7:30 pm.

I am counting on everyone to keep up their daily running program to build endurance.

I am also counting on everyone to work hard on their personal ball control skills. Everyone must get more skilled at receiving the ball, taking the ball to space to create time and advancing the ball with an accurate pass or shot.

We'll have practice on Wednesday at King's Masting 6:30 pm- 8pm or my place if it rains.

Practice will be focussed on 1 v 1 play, endurance, position play and sideline ball movement.

This weekend I will run two 1/2 day clinics for personal skill development for those who are around.

Saturday 9am-12 noon

Sunday 9am - 12 noon

Both at King's Masting PS

Please confirm your plans to attend.

BOB T

WEST NIAGARA FOLLOW UP
I called the Oakville coach today to inquire about their player that was taken to hospital. She is fine, and appears to have hyper extended her hip while over reaching for a ball. They took the precautions because she thought she had heard something crack.
Oakville beat up on Niagara Falls (the top of last year's league) 7-0 in the final and I think I heard him say they beat up on Dixie as well.
Either Niagara is a very different team this year, or they were missing a lot of personnel on the bench.

As much as we were not strong in our game against Oakville, the coach said we gave them their best game of the tournament.

Imagine how we will do against them when we get some dry, warmer, less distracting weather.

The detailed results will be posted at www.eteamz.com/westniagarainvitational after the 15th of May.

I got a very nice note from the Welland coach congratulating you all on a good game and your classy behaviour.

The Sudbury coach sent a note wondering how we did. They have been playing against the boys up there getting ready for our Ontario Cup matches in July.

You are all gaining lots of new friends out there and I hope you all take the time to meet someone new off the field when we play new teams.

Last week I wrote a long note to the Dixie coach expressing my concern about the language issue at Oshawa. I haven't seen a response yet.

BOB T

LEAGUE GAME MAY 22 CAMBRIDGE UNITED
Well, there it is. Our first win and first 3 points of the season.

Each league game must be approached like a World Cup final for us to finish at the top as planned.

We were challenged before the game even started with a short bench. We were missing Erin, Daniella C, and Corrin all who had unavoidable conflicts with other activities.
The antiquated OSA player registration system prevented Amanda from playing in tonight's game. Hopefully her card will clear this week so she can get out and support her team on the field. Many thanks to Amanda who still came out to cheer us all on.
Our team records will indicate that she played.

That left a 13 player bench for a 70 minute game on a HUGE field. We were all very grateful for our superior conditioning.

The first half ended in a 0-0 tie. After opening up a little nervously we settled down and took control of the game but failed to finish time after time.

By halftime the Cambridge squad was clearly running out of gas. We still had lots in our tank in spite of the short bench. (Keep up your running at home ladies)

Krista poked in our first goal after some hard digging and cross from Sarah and Dani P.
The second came from a beautiful one touch by Kirsten from Leanne's cross.

The third goal was a rebound poked in by Leanne after Rachel's half field run with the ball.

Cayla recorded her first league shutout for 2002, and, as the girls were quick to realize, the score brought them "no extra Germans" at the next practice.
Everyone should understand that there were very few shots on Cayla which is the way we want it. Everyone worked hard to keep our goal area clear and no one got to launch the ball from far out.
No shots - no chances. No chances - no goals. No goals - you win. No goals - no Germans.

Some thoughts for practice and future.....

1 v 1 wins must improve. Everyone must get to 75% or better. I will start keeping track beginning with our next game and the results will be charted and posted.

Strikers and mids are going too deep into the penalty area too soon. Many times the ball was crossed right to them or behind them. Many times the ball squirted out to the top of the box and no one (mids) was home. They were standing on the goal line.

All of our goals tonight came from players running ON TO the ball.

We will work on finishing crosses at next practice.

We did a much better job tonight moving up the side of the field. This is our game plan and we must concentrate on moving the ball outside ALL of the time.

We still like to drop high balls in our box. We MUST break this habit. Better teams will punish us for this. The ball MUST be cleared first touch.

We are having much more faith in delivering the ball into "jail" (the opponents corners) even when no one seems to be there. Those who make it happen are starting to realize how well it works. MORE, MORE!!

Before the game we talked about anticipation - guessing what might happen and reacting before it does. Our girls will find their effectiveness will increase a lot and the energy they burn will drop a whole bunch. Playing smart....we are improving but still have a long way to go.

Communication and staying out of each other's way.........ARGHHH!!

The bottom line is - WE WON, WE HAD FUN AND WE LEARNED SOME THINGS.

BOB T

ole

MAY 29 GAME REVIEW ST CATHARINES JETS
After the game I went over to watch the U17 girls play at South Common. It gave me the chance to calm down and reflect on the realities of the game tonight.

Jets 4
Eagles 0

There were two things that happened tonight that disturbed me the most. I talked to the girls after the game about them.

Firstly, the "celebration" at centre field before shaking hands after getting hammered in a poor performance. This told me, the opposition and everyone else watching that this was not a serious event for the Erin Mills Eagles. I was embarrassed for the team.

Everything we do, every minute of practice is to perform successfully at our league games. League games are our "Stanley Cup" playoffs. Tonight we blew away 3 points that we will never get back. Consider second place now.

Secondly, and more serious was watching the team quit in the middle of the game. The next time I see that happen my job is over and someone else can step in.
We must play and stay focussed to the last whistle no matter what the score is.

Yes we got muscled over by a physically bigger, talented team. Our gang allowed the Jets to control the game and spent most of the game chasing jet streams.
From the first kick off we set aside our game plan and began stuffing the ball up the middle to red shirts.

Basic fundamentals were forgotten. There was not ball possession. There was passing without thought, there was no ball support. Everyone forgot how to kick a ball when it mattered. We ducked. We didn't anticipate one pass. We stood and watched three goals get launched into our net from the top of the box. We stood and watched countless others sail over and around our net.
Your keeper cannot do her job alone.

There will be a practice on Saturday from 9am-12pm at King's Masting.

We must all get working on the basic fundamentals of shooting, pass accuracy, ball control, shielding and overall ball mastery. There seems not enough independent practice going on at home so I have to create the time to get this working. The team will have a long hot summer without basic skill improvement.

Those of you with shooting and pass accuracy challenges had better get cracking if you expect to continue at this level of soccer.

This can and will be fun if we all put in the serious effort to succeed.

BOB T

JUNE 4 PRACTICE AND JUNE 5 GAME
A reminder that rain does not cancel practice or games.

If the forecast holds and rains tomorrow and Wed our practice will default to a team meeting at the coach's house, 3356 Tallmast Crescent.
Call my cell at 416-347-0037 if you are unsure about practice or meeting.

Our Wednesday game in Saltfleet will be a go regardless.

Only the ref can cancel the game (or the local Parks authority if the field is unsuitable).

Rain or shine we must all plan to be on the field in Stoney Creek by 6:15 pm. The location is listed in your handouts as well as on the locations page of the website.
Be conscious of rush hour outbound traffic and plan accordingly.

Car pool players if necessary.

Plan for cool and wet. Pack a full change of dry stuff for post game.

Spectators should consider wet/mud footwear.

BOB T

SALTFLEET POST GAME REVIEW
We handed three easy points to Saltfleet tonight.

Everyone contributed.

Three simple goal area breakdowns caused three very avoidable goals against.

The midfield continues to lose their 1 v 1 situations and overall fail to anticipate and control play. The game is won and lost here.

The striking line spent most of the game making ineffective attacks giving the ball directly to the keeper over and over again.

We will be better prepared for our next game.

Be sure to read my new rules about practice.

POST GAME REVIEW WATERLOO JUNE 12
Well that was a game where almost everything went right. The Eagles controlled the majority of the game in spite of some two way action.
We just couldn't find anyone who wanted the ball bad enough to attack the ball in the Waterloo box.
The game was destined to be settled by one mistake by one team or the other. We were the unlucky recipients.
As I told the girls after the game, each and every player made solid contributions throughout the game.

There was nothing to complain about.

Sometimes we just forget that the simple objective is to SCORE!!!!

No shooting - no scoring.

No shooting - no accidents.

It was a shame to walk away from such a good game with no points.

PETERBOROUGH SUMMARY
I don't think there is any doubt that this team is developing in fine fashion.

We all enjoyed a relatively dry weekend full of 5 soccer games. Three wins a tie and one loss is a respectable finish.

I think we all agree that the tie and loss should have been ours, but stats are stats. I need to starve our attacking team and only feed them AFTER scoring results.

The desperate need to score will come. We will focus more of our practice in this area.

Keeping our season plan in perspective, our league games must be the primary focus. Our tournament play is both some fun for all and some pressure practice for our game plan in the South Region Soccer League. Tournament trophies are nice to have but they are not essential.

The Peterborough Soccer Club certainly managed to deliver a quality event for our team considering the flood and wet weather pressures.

I was successful in ensuring that none of our games was played in the rain. Let this be my one positive contribution to the event.

Congrats to the girls for a solid effort. There were many sad eyes after the Peterborough game - the one that got away.
This was a good lesson about the need for early scoring damage against the other team.

Many thanks to Nancy Avila who put together our room schedule, to Isabella Chircop for dealing with laundry and serving as trainer on the bench all weekend, to Julie Caverson for setting up the team dinner at The Pizza Factory on Saturday night, to all who helped set up and take down, to Steve and Gus for their energies in keeping our girls minds in the game, and finally to the moms and dads who took the time to get their players on the field ready for action.

Thank you girls for your special effort this weekend.
I know that each and every one of you did your very best.
Your accomplishments make me proud.

Your spirit makes my job FUN !!

POST GAME REVIEW JULY 19 IN OAKVILLE
We logged three important points tonight (3-1) against a talented Oakville squad. They were trying very hard to play a disciplined positional game but the Eagles were just to eager to shut them down.
Sixteen players gave us a full bench and lots of rotation.
I would still like to see better personal ball control. We are losing far too many balls on first touch, and still unloading balls far too soon. For that matter sometimes we are holding the ball just a bit too long. The end result is we pass ownership of the ball to the other team too often.
More homework practice on first touch control and shielding please.

All in all a solid night of soccer with lots of shots on the Oakville net and only about 2 on ours.

We have found a good balance with the team as they settle into their positions.

POST GAME REVIEW JUNE 26 BURLINGTON
We certainly put on a strong show against this Burlington team with excellent effort from many players.
Our enthusiasm to keep the ball buried deep in the other end left our defending line badly exposed.
Each time the Burlington keeper kicked the ball up, our mids were often still WALKING back to help. Unmarked players put lots of unneccesary pressure on our defense. A more skilled team will kill us if we continue with one way play in the middle.
We can all expect the Burlington coach to exploit this obvious breakdown in our shape if it reappears on Monday.
We missed far too many clear scoring opportunities with ineffective kicks. Strikers were too deep again with balls crossing behind them. Mids were not attacking balls in front of them in the box.
We gotta get hungry, stop being so polite and get the job done.

I am confident we will register our power on the scoreboard next time we meet.

POST GAME REVIEW JULY 1 VS BURLINGTON B
In spite of ther heat our team came out ready to play and quickly took on a 3-0 lead with solid agressive movement to the ball.
As time passed we fell into last week's trap of midfielders hanging too deep in the offensive zone allowing Burlington to mount an attack through the empty midfield.
This is a very short lived habit I hope and perhaps only specific to the Burlington team shape on the field.
All in all a slid effort by everyone in tough, hot conditions.
Well done Eagles. You are all showing solid improvement in your personal and team play skills.

This win advances us to the League Cup quarterfinal against Cambridge. Date TBA.

BOB T

POST GAME SUMMARY - JULY 3 GEORGETOWN
Unfortunately the Eagles did not bring the team out to play soccer until the last 5 minutes. In spite of a general lack of focus we managed to outshoot Georgetown 19-4.
We are playing too much individual soccer and not providing or looking for quality support to move the ball around the field and put the ball in the net.
The result is a burned out team that is overworking itself trying to do the job individually.
This habit stems from a lack of full team practice. There are still far too many players unavailable for practice.
Until the team gets focussed on team practice and personal skill development we can expect to see more of the same.

Tonight cost us two very valuable points that I am sure will come to haunt us down the road.

There are still some players seriously lacking in aerobic fitness. This will not magically arrive without hard work on your own time.

Remember, next year's tryouts are underway.

POST GAME REVIEW JULY 10 - VS DIXIE
The girls came out to play tonight and played competitive soccer for about 2/3 of the game. We lost the game however in the other third and the three points that come with it.
In spite of having a loaded bench with 18 players we had too many playing short of full energy for various reasons.
Players must understand that showing up to games is only part of the responsibility. The other part requires you to be ready to play with a full tank of gas.
We clearly demonstrated that we can deal with this Dixie team if we show up to play and play consistently for an entire game.
Our strikers still need to be hungrier and create opportunities in the goal area. Still far too much watching the ball, offensively and defensively.

Here comes Sudbury and your Ontario Cup opportunity. Only Dixie stands in your way to advance.

GET MAD !!!and prepare to play to win.

BOB T

LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL SUMMARY
Tonight proved that shots - any shots - go in sometimes. I wish we had more - shots that is.

Cambridge brought out a much better disciplined team as expected since our first league opener on their field.
The Eagles continue to make much more work for themselves than is necessary. The players need to find more space for themselves and shut down the space of the opposition. This means taking the ball into an open area away from the crowd rather than trying to dance with the ball one one square metre of grass. This also means reading the play BEFORE it happens and being in the right place at the right time.
Our midfield is still not punching enough balls through defensive gaps (because they have no time and space to make it happen).
Take the ball somewhere, find the time to see a pass and do the job.
The coach will be glad to see the time when players will head high balls back into attacking play rather than ducking. We will gain HUGE advantage when this transition comes.

We need more shots from the top of the box. The mids need to be ready and they need to be fed the ball.

Strikers - ONE JOB - SCORE.........
We seem to have forgotten the job......

This game should have been 5+ to nothing but it was a win - and an important one at that.

Let's show this Cambridge team how to play soccer Monday night on our turf.

POST GAME REVIEW - CAMBRIDGE AT SOUTH COMMON
Rather than rant.....review yesterday's Cambridge game notes. Nothing has changed.

Cambridge came out to play today.....

Fortunately we snagged the win.

A SQUEAKER IN BRAMPTON
And on it goes.
The two redeeming points of tonight were 1) the three points we squeaked out with and 2) for a brief moment late in the second half we started to play with some life. May it carry through to the weekend. Next week we begin a culture shock to correct this energy slump we seem to be dragging from game to game.

BT

SUDBURY IN REVIEW
There is a lot to be said for a team that can pull themselves up quickly after a bad experience. The effort on Sunday was exceptional after allowing themselves to drift in the second game on Saturday.

The well anticipated and hyped game against Dixie was a well played game. We had our chances that missed and we opened the door for their chances that didn't. We tried some player shifting in the Dixie game that delivered some surprise, but at the same time, the loss, combined with the changes, created some doubt in players' minds.

We all knew this was the game to win. The record book gave Dixie a 2- 0 win.

Our second game against Sudbury Panhellenic was not pretty. We stuck to our reformation hoping to see the team settle in. What we got was a half effort in a game that was perceived by the players as meaningless. As much as they wanted to win there was no team effort in this game until the second half. Too little too late and the Eagles dropped another 2- 0 win.

We resigned ourselves to the evening festivities at the Caverson cottage and decided to deal with the problem in the morning.
Many thanks to the Caverson's for the invitation to their cottage for an evening of barbecue, swimming, boating and fellowship. Fortunately Julie and Gerard had a deal with the bugs to stay away until we left (almost).

I am grateful for the constructive feedback offered by so many that came from our time together over the weekend. This whole effort has to be fun and fun is gained from not just the players' team but the parent team as well.

I have posted some of the digital pictures I took in the website album.

Sunday morning began with another team meeting. The hotel was kind enough to provide a boardroom for our use.
We had a long discussion about confidence, managing emotions, and overall what kind of team we want to be.
First and foremost, I made it clear that I will not be associated with a team that quits - regardless of the circumstances.

I reminded them that each has the skills to do the job. We have all seen them before.

We talked about the perils of 11 players on the field playing 11 different games (Panhellenic). We discussed the critical need to be aware of what is going on around them and to see space and opportunity to use. Everyone is working much harder than they need to be.
Support to the ball had to improve. Patience with the ball had to improve.

We all decided we were not leaving Sudbury without some success.

Our game against Scarborough was entertaining although wet and scoreless. We logged our first point in the tournament.

The final game came against the Sudbury Canadians. The Eagles finally settled some balls in the net and came home with a 3-0 win under their belt and 4 points for the tournament. The highlight of that game had to the cannon header that Krista made on a crossed ball. Too bad it missed. May there be many more challenges like that.

Many thanks to Nancy and Isabell for coordinating our weekend. Thanks also to the Caverson's for providing the venue and the party on Saturday night. It made the trip to Sudbury worthwhile.

As much as I still think we could have given Dixie a better run for their money, they should be congratulated for their overall decisive win this weekend.

Our players have only two people(s) they must impress with their effort:

THEIR OPPPONENT

and

THEMSELVES

If there are too many people to impress confusion reigns.

Please help our players understand this clearly.

BOB T

POST GAME REVIEW - ST. CATHARINES JULY 24
You had to be there.

Tonight we saw the finest display of soccer that this team has ever delivered.
To boot - this talent emerged against one of the toughest teams in our division.
The Jets had one player missing and one player added that did not play in our first meeting. So we essentially played the same team we faced at the start of the season.
That team hammered us back then.

This game was no fluke. We saw lots of "first to the ball", short passing, support, 1 v 1 success and no-nonsense aggressive play.

We controlled the game in the middle of the field.

From a coaching point of view this is the game we have been breeding all season.

It was a good feeling to see it happen from both a coaching and a player standpoint. I'm sure that every parent was equally impressed.

We were further blessed with one of the best officials we have come across, especially on an away field where we don't always get the breaks.

Tonight two free kicks converted into goals. They were set up and finished by a complete team effort.

I am indeed proud of this gang.

They impressed themselves and most especially - their opponents.

Everyone made a difference!

Keep up the good work and let's march on to our goal at the top of the division board.

BT

ole

POST GAME REVIEW - SALTFLEET JULY 31
It was a warm one and both teams put up a reasonable effort.
Neither team was able to settle the ball in the net although Saltfleet very nearly ended it in extra time when we lost our cool in our own end.
Saltfleet had 13 on the bench. They were depleted by injuries from their tournament round in Ottawa last weekend.
No less than 6 of their players hit the dirt during the game. The coach told me after the game that they were just plain exhausted.
Not to suggest that we weren't but 16 on the bench helped.
We outshot Saltfleet 2-1 but we delivered not much better than mosquito bites on their net. We must do a better job of looking for the player with the best shot and getting the ball there.

This game was a far cry from the game played last week in St. Catharines.

We spent far too much time and valuable energy chasing the ball rather than controlling and moving it up the field.

If we give up space we have to chase....

We captured a point but let another two get away in a game that was ours for the taking.

Fun scrimmage on the indoor track on Thursday night for those who are around.

See you all there or in Ottawa on Friday.

BOB T

OTTAWA 2002 IN REVIEW
Well there we have it. Our first foray into the National Capital Invitational. I think everyone agrees that this is a quality tournament in a great location that draws respectable competition from far and wide. The message I got was we want to be back here next year.
Now would be a good time to forward your thoughts on the Ottawa venue and any thoughts you have than would improve the event.

Unfortunately we did not advance to the semi-finals.

Our game against Oshawa was predictably a difficult one. I would have preferred to face them on the second day. I think we would have come out of the gate faster than we did on Saturday. The Oshawa game was a good dose of the skills required at the top.

Sundays morning game against the Kanata squad was a big deal for us and for them.
They are kings of the hill in their Ottawa Carleton Soccer League where they have given up only one goal in 11 league games.
Erin Mills and Oshawa provided a little wake up call that they are not as invincible as they thought.
They also have the 7th spot in the province-wide Terra Rankings (we are #32  for now).
It will be interesting to see how the deck shuffles in the next week or so.

The afternoon game was against the Nepean City team that holds the distinction of the league bottom. No surprise of course.
Hats off to the girls who understood that 6-0 is enough and time to back off. There is no benefit to anyone to run up a score without purpose or challenge.

I hope also that the girls recognize that the Nepean team QUIT. It was ugly and unfortunate. Never, never, never quit.

The end result put us in second place in our grouping, behind Oshawa who advanced to the semi-finals.

I took in the final match on Monday morning with Oshawa facing Brams United.
Brams controlled the game for the first 12 minutes or so. The Brams keeper fumbled an easy cross that was converted quickly by Oshawa at the 6 minute mark. Brams came right back three minutes later with a great cross and a mid running onto the ball. But two minutes later Oshawa crossed one of their own that was hammered by a rushing midfielder.
As the game prgressed Brams played further and further off their players. They got caught twice more trying their trademark offside trap against Oshawa. Twice the striker broke the line on 1 v 1 creating breakaways on the Brams keeper. She is agressive and comes out hard but she is not mobile enough to deal with the Oshawa foot skills that stepped around her like a cone to score in an empty net.
Brams just couldn't mount an effective attack against the Kicks fore the last 3/4 of the game.

I expect that we will be better ready to finish the job next year if we choose to come back.

Well done Eagles. It was a fun weekend. You played some good soccer, had some night fun in Ottawa and used the opportunity to work in some family holiday time.
Welcome to the Rep Soccer lifestyle.

There are always things we can do better on and off the field so be sure to forward your ideas about this weekend.

BOB T

POST GAME REVIEW - WATERLOO AUG 12
As much as we all like to think we dominated this game we did not control it. Fundamental skills like first touch control, support and first to the ball were largely lacking. Instead of possession soccer we continued to carry on with panic kicking. Kicking the ball away does not amount to domination.
Shots were 11-7 for us although we never really tested the keeper. Half of those shots came from inside the 6 yard box where we gently rolled the ball up to their keeper.
We must get more effective play from our strikers.
When games go well we discuss our magic. When games don't go our way we look to blame. Tonight's game was a full team effort and we did not capitalize on our opportunities - and grand opportunities they were. We made one mistake and we paid for it.
We also suffered with a very green referee who was very unsure of herself and swayed to challenge often. Problem referees are a fact of life and the only way to deal with them is to put more balls in the net.

It is no secret that we are not a scoring dynamo. This has to change. Strikers have to do their job and get the ball in the net or give it to someone who can. i cannot make our players score. They have to want to bad enough that they will do whatever it takes.

No one on the attacking part of the field tonight was making any big impact.
Lots of running around, but no impact.

Our strong suit was not available tonight. Most nights we have a group of players who can turn a game around in the closing minutes. Tonight it just wasn't there.

We put tremendous pressure on the Waterloo team in the last 15 minutes of the game but still couldn't get the job done. Everyone contributed to that pressure and everyone contributed to the result.
No one or two players caused our loss. The team did it all together.

This Waterloo team has let 4 goals go by all season. This is no accident. They play a tight defensive wall with 5 or 6 players behind the ball all the time and hope for an accident to happen at the other end.
It is obviously an effective strategy for them, especially against teams who don't use their striking skills to get to the net.

Right or wrong, it is not my idea of soccer. Soccer is meant to be played straight ahead in offensive play. I expect our defenders to be an effective attacking machine that can fast break the ball up the field.

We have seen this team deliver their "A" game on several occasions. I have not been able to find out what makes it come and go.
This is something that our girls have to answer themselves.

A reminder to all - all players on the bench play. This is a fundamental tenet of my coaching style. This is how all players gain their experience and have fun.
We move players around the field from time to time into positions that better suit their game style that day.

We lost tonight's game because we did not finish on our opportunities - period. This loss had nothing to do with not creating enough opportunities. We had many.

An unfortunate and very expensive 3 points lost.

GAME REVIEW - AUGUST 14 OAKVILLE
Gratefully the rain stayed away from our chewed up Twin Arenas field and the inevitable mud bowl was avoided.
Well, three goals...about time !!!
The girls came out to play at least in the first half and had control of the game with support and passing plays working.
The second half was a return to our old game of the past few games where we went back to kick and run. Oakville was actually gaining some control while we fell back into the bad habits.
Shari boldly stood up to the task in Cayla's absence and delivered a couple of brilliant moments to log her well earned shut out.

Now let's bring this on to Mohawk on Sunday and show Dixie that it can be done.

Waterloo is convinced they are going to the final and I sure would like to have one more crack at that frustration.

BOB T

AUGUST 18 DIXIE GAME REPORT
The Eagles came into this game feeling that they could finally deliver a win against this tough Dixie squad. For the opening 35 minutes it was clear that they were well on their way to a decisive win. In the first half we controlled the play but we could only muster 4 shots on net to their 3.
Half time arrived with the score 0-0 and Eagles feeling very much in control of their game.
The game turned quickly though with the wind in our face, officials seemingly only calling blue favours, and the Eagles starting to feel that their magic was wearing off. Dixie quickly turned up their aggressive style and our Eagles backed away.
With the ball stuffed in our own end we made too many defensive errors that created corners and penalty shots to finish us off.
Shots in the second half were 11-3 against and the score reflected it.
We have to play a whole game against these tough teams if we expect to play at their level - and we have to play OUR game.

We must all keep teamwork in focus. We had some bad examples of playing outside of the team framework. The resulting breakdown on the field cost us our advantage on many occasions.

BURLINGTON GAME REPORT AUG 21
The Eagles showed us all that they can execute their skills when the pressure is low and they are not intimidated.
This is a brain game.
Our shots were 25-5 but we still need more hunger from the forwards close to the net. This game should have had a much higher score.
We play Burlington one more time on our field late in September.

GAME REPORT - SEP 1.04 vs OAKVILLE B
I am running out of words that describe the truly amazing determination of this team to achieve their division title goal.
Tonight we absolutely overwhelmed the shell-shocked Oakville team with 41 shots on net vs 2 against.

The contributions from Amanda and Melanie from the 13A team were truly extraordinary and they anchored our back line for the first half 5-0 lead.
Their own team has critical games ahead and we protected them for the second half on the bench.
Both of these young athletes made a HUGE difference in our result.

Thanks also to Lauren from the Select team who dug deeper than ever to dominate her space and create an opportunity for at least one of our goals.

I am continually amazed how our Eagles seem to get stronger every game, playing quality, smart soccer for a full 90 minutes. I am also amazed at the energy level that is being presented game after game from the first to last whistle.

We changed our corner kick strategy at the last practice and we cashed in several times tonight (finally).

The following entry came out of the "soccer forum". You will notice that, although we are not named" we are starting to get noticed.....

The discussion is about the North Miss A coach from last year.....

oops devko,
I believe FP took his daughter to an OYSL team after all the rukus at NM. I don't believe he left his team, one that he has coached for many years just to place his daughter on the OYSL team.

Yes, the club's head coach did indeed assist with selecting the team at Tryout time and is indeed now the Coach for this same team taking over from FP. However if you go back many many threads this topic was discussed and was a hot topic for a long time. Oakville did indeed play a big part in the North Miss issues along with the Oakville Coach, it was a very difficult time for all with a lot of unsettlement for all involved.

One thing I found very strange is that although the club's head coach was picking the players at tryout time, and true he didn't know all of the girls personally, why was there a requirement posted on the NM site requiring that the girls wear their tracksuit at tryouts ? I can think of no other reason other than to assist in identifying where these players were coming from, did this give the edge to certain players?. Can someone enlighten me as to why this was a requiement?

With regard to the difference between premier and elite in the SR league I totally agree. It is definately a big adjustment and this may well be the reason for dissatisfaction. It was absurd that 5 teams moved up to Elite division from Premier and 2 moved down from Elite. If you look at the scores in the Premier division one of the teams that were moved down has blown every team away often by 6 or more goals, this was a major disservice to those girls who should have stayed in Elite. 5 up and 2 down? something wrong with that picture!